Made of Stars
by Ruinous79
Summary: Savannah Moss is having dreams about traveling through time and space with a blonde stranger. When she starts hearing voices while wide awake, she thinks she might be losing it. Her mom happens to know a Doctor who can help. Savannah's about to learn that her dreams are someone else's memories. And that all families have secrets.*Part 3 of the Parallel Lives Series*
1. Chapter 1

_**"The cosmos is within us.**_

 _ **We are made of star stuff.**_

 _ **We are a way for the universe**_

 _ **to know itself."**_

 _ **-Carl Sagan**_

* * *

 _Perfect darkness. She was crawling through a dank, dark tunnel. The sound of snarling echoed through the concrete cylinder. Someone or something was pursuing her._

 _Suddenly she yelped. "There's a drop off here! A-a-and it sounds like water down below."_

 _"Jump." A man instructed her from close behind._

 _"What!?" she replied._

 _"Either jump or your good friend Marmaduke here will have you for dessert once he's through eating me." the voice informed her matter-of-factly_

 _"Oh goddammit, why didn't I just go back to rehab?" she groaned. Then she took a deep breath and dove off into the darkness._

 _After a fall that sent her stomach to the top of her throat, she plunged deeply into a body of water. She was dimly aware of a second splash as her companion dropped in right after her._

 _She struggled to break the surface and when she did, coughed and spat, hoping to god this wasn't some damn alien sewer. She looked around realizing there was at least some dim light here. And fortunately, the water looked relatively clear._

 _A blonde man popped up right beside her. "Are you alright?" he shouted over the roar of the water and the pumping machinery._

 _"Just peachy. Where the hell's Marmaduke?" she shouted back, looking all around them. The thought of the creature appearing and pulling her back under had her panicking again._

 _"One thing about Arkheonites is that they can't swim." The man shouted._

 _Suddenly there was a third splash as the mutant fell and hit the water. It sank like a stone._

 _"The other thing about Arkheonites is they're not terribly bright. They don't know they can't swim." he grinned at her somewhat smugly and began to swim down stream. She trod water for a moment, shaking her head in disbelief before paddling after him._

 _Monday, Universe A_

Savannah Moss woke up from the bizarre dream feeling groggy and disoriented. She sat up slowly, rolling the details around in her brain. Lately her dreams had been lucid and strange, (often featuring the same strange blonde man she'd never met in real life) and she learned if she made any sudden movements upon waking, she risked forgetting everything. She'd always been fascinated by the way the mind works both asleep and awake. With the weird stuff she'd been dreaming up lately, she'd even taken to keeping a little dream journal at her bedside to keep track of the crazy shit her subconscious mind concocted.

She grabbed the journal now and the pen right beside. She scribbled quickly before her brain could forget.

 _Dark tunnel. Chased by a monster. Jumped into water. Monster couldn't swim. Cute blonde guy there again._

The very act of writing it down seemed to solidify the dream for her. Almost like it was a real memory of something that had happened to her.

Savannah closed the journal and leaned back against the headboard. She stretched her legs out beneath the quilt. It was the quilt she'd had since childhood which made sense since she was sleeping on the bed in her old room at her mom's house. She'd moved back home only two days before, following a heart wrenching breakup.

Evan. Just thinking his name brought back the knot in her stomach. The anger and aching sadness. Savannah sighed and slid back down to her pillow, her eyes filling with tears. They had moved in together just three months ago after dating for over two years. She thought things were going okay. She had been blindsighted when he broke it off. He had come home Thursday evening from his job as a teller at First National Bank and told her point blank he wasn't in love with her anymore and he thought she should move out. Just like that. He turned over her whole world.

Savannah pulled the cover over her head and closed her eyes wishing she could return to the odd world in her dreams. Outer space and some stranger she called the Doctor. She'd rather deal with dark tunnels and alien creatures than the fact that this was day three that she didn't want to get out of bed. That she couldn't eat anything and she felt dead inside.

Truth be told, she was disgusted with herself. She'd always prided herself on being strong. So, her boyfriend had broken up with her? She never thought she'd become this pathetic victim. Compared to some of the things her mother had endured, this was nothing. Her story was so ordinary. A civil ending to a relationship. He'd even helped her move her things. There was no bad guy to blame or hate. Evan wasn't a cheater. He wasn't violent or even mean. He was just...done.

There was a knock on the door and Savannah quickly wiped away her tears and sat up. It was her mom.

She entered the room and stood at the end of the bed, her arms crossed. She was wearing pastel yellow scrubs, her curly blonde hair was up in a messy bun. She looked sleepy but just as beautiful as ever. She must have just gotten home from work. Savannah found she had a hard time keeping track of time lately. She honestly didn't know if it was day or night at the moment.

"Hey Vannah." Dayle greeted her softly, grabbing a hold of her toes playfully through the quilt. "You get some sleep last night?"

The thing that made Savannah feel the worst about all this was she knew her mom's heart was breaking for her. She could see it in her beautiful blue eyes, though she tried to hide it. She couldn't bear to see Savannah in pain. Savannah had spent the better part of her childhood acting brave for her mom's sake. This was the first time she truly couldn't find it in her to put on a front.

Savannah cleared her throat and smiled weakly. "Yep. Seems the one thing I can do well right now." She chuckled at herself and then quickly changed the subject. "Another fucked up dream too."

Her mother raised her eyebrows. She always seemed fascinated by these bizarre dreams she'd been having over the past few weeks. She was interested in every detail and asked lots of questions. It seemed a little weird to Savannah but then, her mom wasn't the most conventional of people.

Dayle joined her on the bed and gestured for her to elaborate. Savannah told her about crawling through the dark tunnel, the snarling creature she never quite got a look at, the drop off and falling into the water.

Dayle watched her face as she told the story, captivated. When Savannah was done, her mother asked, "So... the Doctor guy. Did he ever address you by your name?" Dayle's voice was casual but this was the third or fourth time she'd asked this question after one of the dreams.

Savannah narrowed her eyes. "No...he _didn't_. Do you have some theory as to what these dreams mean or something?"

Dayle just smirked at her. "Well duh. They mean you're just as crazy as your mother." She gave Savannah a playful slap on the arm.

Savannah giggled but found she didn't have the energy for there usual sarcastic banter. Inexplicably, she felt tears come to her eyes. She leaned against the headboard again and closed her eyes hoping to stop the tears from escaping. They squeezed out any way and rolled down her cheeks.

She sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with me." she groaned miserably. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to move too much for fear she'd set herself off again. She felt so peculiar. Not herself at all.

After a moment of silence, Dayle reached over and grabbed Savannah's hand between the two of hers. "Baby girl, your heart's been broken. And it's gonna take some time to heal it. You get a pass for feeling like shit... But here's the thing: You get one more day to wallow around feeling sorry for yourself, then I'm going to require you to be a functional human being again. You know...Maybe shower? Eat. A little sunlight perhaps." She squeezed Savannah's hand who finally opened her eyes. Dayle's blue gray eyes met Savannah's big brown eyes. "Is that a deal?" she asked her daughter gently.

Savannah slid back under the quilt gratefully. "Deal." she murmured. "I need to get back to work tomorrow anyway. I'm on my last vacation day."

Dayle leaned forward and kissed her daughter's forehead tenderly. "I'm not sure how the library is operating without you."

Then she closed the blinds to darken the room a bit and left her daughter to rest.

* * *

 _Monday, Universe B_

Sienna Woods pushed the book cart off the elevator into the corridor when she reached the lower level. She had a whole batch of geography books that needed relabeling by the Collection Management staff. Once they were delivered to the basement work room, she hoped to sneak out for a quick smoke before relieving the popular library librarian Margaret for her lunch break. Being just a clerk who'd worked here a little less than five months, Sienna was the low man on the totem pole, meaning she'd lunch last after hopping around to relieve everyone else first.

Truth be told, she didn't mind. She loved her job and was grateful for the chance. She had her friend Silas to thank for getting her foot in the door. He'd been with the library for four years and had been promoted to issue desk supervisor before he'd taken a little break to attend rehab. It just so happened that was where Sienna had met him. He'd reclaimed his job soon after finishing his program and a month later managed to snag Sienna an interview.

"Hey See." she heard a familiar voice shout from behind her. She grinned. Speak of the devil.

She turned to see a tall young man wearing a tan stocking cap and dark framed glasses grinning back at her. Silas was biracial- half African American, half Asian- and was seriously blessed in the looks department. All the single young women at the library were majorly into him, a fact that he seemed to be honestly unaware of.

"Hey Si." she replied. "Smoke break?"

He nodded and grabbed the cart away from her to push it down the hallway. She glanced over at him, as always, slightly uncomfortable with how kind he was to her. She loved Silas like a brother but unfortunately, his feelings went a little deeper than that. A different kind of love altogether. A fact that had come to light a few months back when they were kicking it at his place binge watching Supernatural together.

He had tried to kiss her and she had stopped him. She apologized profusely but made it clear to him that she just couldn't go there- not with him or anyone. It wasn't like she had never thought of him in that way. Truth be told, she just hadn't felt right about dating since she'd left rehab. Her therapist Lynn had told her that it was perfectly natural and not to put pressure on herself. At the time, she had been scared that the incident with Silas would spoil their friendship. But he was too humble and unselfish to let that happen. Things had pretty well gone back to normal within a couple weeks. But Sienna knew his feelings hadn't changed.

While she was certainly flattered (Silas was pretty damn hot, not to mention something of a genius), she felt the need to keep things very clear with him. It was something to do with the fact that in the past, she'd not shown much integrity in her friendships with guys. She wasn't proud of the fact that in the past she'd taken advantage of guys who she knew really liked her when the feelings weren't mutual. Of course in those days, she was often after a fix or money. If she'd learned nothing through rehab and her participation in Narcotics Anonymous, she'd learned the value of real friends- especially someone like Silas who knew all her secrets and still respected and cared for her.

Once they'd delivered the cart to Crazy Karl in the work room, they slipped out through the delivery entrance on the East side of the basement and made their way to the little courtyard. They sat together on the steps of the rickety old gazebo and both lit up.

Silas squinted over at her as she stuck her pack back in her jacket pocket. "Damn. Is that the same pack from yesterday?" He gave her an exaggerated impressed face. "Nice." She stuck her tongue out at him. Sienna had been quite the chain smoker since rehab but she'd promised her biological mom Dayle that she would try to quit. While it was easier said than done, she had cut way back.

She only just recently (since leaving rehab) made contact with Dayle and was pleased that she now felt a real part of her family. Dayle was married to a sweet dude named Jesse and they had an adopted son named Gabe who was a toddler and absolutely adorable.

Sienna felt sad that she still didn't have the easiest of relationships with her adopted parents. They were staunch conservatives and church goers and it took Sienna a lot of therapy to discover that she might never be able to live up to their expectations of her. And while she had come to peace with it, she regretted that a rift had developed there. They had refused to come to her six month milestone meeting at NA when her sponsor presented her with a coin commemorating six months of sobriety. It was a big day for her but Gary and Allison couldn't quite get past the fact that Dayle and Jesse planned to attend. It was like her new relationship with Dayle was a slap in the face to them and while she'd tried to be sensitive and careful about it, she thought they were really being quite childish.

She realized she'd been quiet for some time and that Silas was watching her. "Hey See. Whatcha thinkin about?"

She made an annoyed face. "Just family bullshit." She quickly changed the subject. "How bout you? How's it goin with the fam?"

He rolled his eyes and blew out a big breath. "Well, ever since I moved in with my brother Luke, my mom has been pretty much up my ass every other day. Like, she's convinced I'm going to start partying again." He was fidgeting with his stocking cap, something he did when he felt anxious or nervous about something.

Sienna leaned forward and studied him, concerned. "Well... Luke is totally straight though right? I thought you said he never even smoked pot."

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean... he drinks occasionally but not too much at the apartment. He's not a total dick like that. It just seems like every time I turn around, my mom is turning up to inspect the place." He made a "what the fuck" gesture. "I feel like now that I've moved out, I got out of prison but still have a parole officer." he muttered.

Sienna could empathize. Recovering addicts who took the process seriously had to do a lot of work to restore their loved ones' faith in them. And when you had been on a straight path for a good long while, keeping up with meetings and working the steps, it was a bit of a punch in the gut when someone didn't trust you.

She didn't know a lot about Silas's mom other than she was from the Phillipines and she'd raised him and his brother Luke by herself. She didn't seem to trust many people. She never dated. But she kept a close eye on her boys. Sienna actually had a lot of respect for the tiny, solemn woman who, to this day thought Sienna's name was Cindy. (Not that Silas would appreciate hearing that right now.)

Before Sienna could come up with a supportive and comforting reply, she saw a familiar green Taurus pull up and park at the hardware store across the square. Her heart leaped in her chest and she felt a familiar sense of surrealism wash over her. It was her ex boyfriend, Chris Bantree. She had never told Silas how things had ended with them, why Chris had finally disappeared from her life. She'd never told Silas about the Doctor. The mad man with a bow tie in the magic blue police box. It was a strange little secret. A secret that Dayle and Jesse knew, but nobody else.

She thought back to that night over six months ago. The night after she'd gotten out of rehab. She'd ran into Chris at the gas station and he started giving her shit. Wanting her to come back to him. Would have likely tried to get her to use. And then. This guy just kinda showed up outta nowhere.

After a big messy argument wherein Chris had put his hands on her and called her the 'c word', the Doctor had knocked his punk ass out.

Sienna watched Chris exit the Taurus and walk into the hardware store and thought back to that night in October.

 _Chris hit the ground hard and the stranger hopped around a bit, holding his injured hand like a little kid. "I'd apologize but there are some words you just don't say to a lady. OUCH!"_

 _Sienna stared at him in amazement. "Dude. Who the hell are you?"_

 _The man stopped the hopping but still had that look about him of a little boy with a boo boo. "I know you probably don't remember, but we have met before. I am the Doctor."_

 _He leaned over Chris's prone body and seemed to place his fingertips against the unconscious man's temples. "There." he muttered to himself before dusting off his hands and standing up straight once more._

 _Sienna's eyes narrowed. "The Doctor? I'm quite sure I would remember..." Her words trailed off as the feeling of de javu hit her stronger than ever. She put her hand to her head, feeling slightly dizzy._

 _"Are you okay?" The Doctor asked, his kind eyes studying her._

 _Sienna shook her head. "I... don't know." She looked at him, taking in the details of his face. Trying to figure out how someone she couldn't recall ever meeting was someone she felt she knew quite well. And even trusted._

 _"Well." he clapped his hands together excitedly. "I have it on good authority that this young man won't be bothering you anymore. And what's more, there is a lovely woman named Dayle Moss who would love to meet you. And I'd be more than happy to take you to see her if you're free for the rest of the evening."_

And that was the night she'd met her mother for the first time. They never spoke of the Doctor after that. When she'd brought him up, Dayle acted kind of funny about it, like there was more to the story she wasn't supposed to know. Like it was a taboo topic that she wasn't ready to get into. With all the other catching up they'd had to do since, Sienna hadn't wanted to broach the awkward subject again, biding her time. One of these days-

"See. Hey!"

Sienna snapped out of it and realized Silas had been trying to get her attention for some time. "Huh?" she asked, feeling flustered.

He stood and offered a hand. "Should probably get back in." He pulled her to her feet and placed his arm around her protectively as they walked. When they'd reached the service entrance, Silas asked quietly, "That was that douchebag Chris wasn't it? The one who beat you up and cheated on you?"

Sienna nodded, still feeling slightly surreal. Yes. That was Chris. And Chris had absolutely no idea who she was now. They'd dated for two years and he didn't remember her at all.


	2. Chapter 2

" **Someone I loved**

 **once gave me a box** **full of darkness.**

 **It took me years to understand** **that this too, was a gift."**

 **-Mary Oliver**

* * *

 _Before she realized what was happening, her driver's side door was wrenched open and a hand grabbed at her arm painfully, yanking her out of the car._

 _"What the fuck Sienna?" The young man with the military buzz cut was in her face, eyes blazing._

 _She attempted to move out from where he had her cornered and he shoved her roughly back against the car._

 _"Ouch! You're fucking hurting me." she shouted, looking around for someone to help her._

 _"That was real cute the way you took off on me last night. I've been trying to call you all damn morning. And I know you know it." He was clenching and unclenching his jaw angrily._

 _"As charming as this display is, I would prefer you stay the hell away from me." She fought to stay calm. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of cowering or acting scared._

 _His hands went around her throat and he shoved her hard against the car._

 _Okay, fuck calm. This asshole was trying to kill her._

 _"Chris! Please. Let go." He was actually choking the breath out of her._

 _"You bitch!" He yelled right in her face and shook her a little. Colored spots danced in front of her eyes. And she swore she heard some strange wheezing, groaning sound._

 _"CHRIS!" she managed to shout once more._

 _Chris knocked his forehead against hers, practically spitting on her when he talked. "I told you-"_

 _She heard a familiar voice with a posh English accent interrupt him._

 _"Pardon me." It was the Doctor! Chris released her in surprise, turning around to deal with the interruption._

 _She rubbed her throat, her eyes watering._

 _Chris bowed up. "Can I help you fucker?"_

 _"Chris, is it? Well Chris, I apologize in advance." And then the polite British man clocked Chris right in the face. He hit the ground like a sack of gravel._

 _The Doctor stepped over him like he was nothing more than that. "Sienna." he greeted her kindly, examining her throat. "It looks like you'll have some bruising here." He touched the spot gently. "Are you okay? Can you breathe?"_

 _Tuesday, Universe A_

Someone was shaking her.

"Savannah! Hey! You have to be at work in like, twelve minutes! What the hell are you still doing in bed?"

Savannah opened her eyes and saw her mom standing there, looking annoyed.

"Crap." She grumbled and rolled over. She grabbed the journal from the bedside table and quickly jotted down:

 _Some asshole with shaved head named Chris. Choking me in IGA parking lot. The Doctor punched him. They called me Sienna._

"Savannah! Seriously now." Dayle was starting to get pissed. She actually pulled the journal out of her daughter's hand and gave her arm a tug. "You need to get moving here. You're supposed to be a supervisor. Set an example. I know you don't want to mess your job up. Over a boy no less."

Savannah sat up grumpily, not even feeling a bit of the urgency her mom clearly wanted her to feel. "I'm getting up." She glanced at the time on her phone. 8:49 am. "Why are you only just now waking me up?" She mumbled.

"Um. Let's see. Could it be because you _promised_ to drive Ember to school this morning and failed to do so and she missed the bus and I had to run home and take her myself?" Yeah. Her mom was definitely pissed.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry." She sat up and covered her face with her hands. She felt like a total asshole. Ember was her ten year old sister and it was most definitely not like Savannah to let her down like this.

Dayle sighed and Savannah could see she was visibly trying to calm down and be understanding. "Just call work and let them know you'll be late, huh? You definitely need a shower. I'll fix you something to eat. Okay Vannah?" Dayle studied her, her face worried, then turned and left the room.

Savannah sighed and dialed the staff line at the library. She got the issue desk supervisor, Silas Overman. "This is Silas." he answered politely.

"Hey Silas. This is Savannah Moss in customer service. I'm running a bit late here. Can you please let Joanne know that I'll be in by ten?" She felt embarrassed. She never did shit like this.

"No problem... Are you okay there? You sound like you don't feel well." he commented.

"Everything's fine. I'll be in soon." She hung up. Silas was a sweet guy but he didn't know her like that.

She finally got out of bed. She felt a bit lightheaded and unsteady on her feet. She scoffed at herself. She was surprised her lazy ass didn't have bedsores as well. She headed for the bathroom across the hall and shut the door behind her.

When she saw her reflection in the mirror she actually gasped. She was usually a fairly attractive young lady. Some had even accused her of being beautiful. But the reflection staring back at her was practically unrecognizable. She was pale and had dark circles around her eyes. Her long brown hair looked like total and complete shit. It was greasy and full of tangles. "Yikes." she said in an odd, strangled voice. She felt just terrible. She honestly wanted to climb right back into bed. If her mom wasn't home and about ready to kick her ass, she probably would do just that. Everything just seemed like such a hopeless joke to her. She turned the water on in the shower, got undressed and climbed in.

She sat down in the bathtub with her knees drawn up to her chest and let the scalding hot water spray down over her. She closed her eyes. She wished she could just stay here like this the rest of the day. She folded her arms over her knees and laid her head down on them. That was the first time she heard the eerie voice of an old woman. Clear as day.

 _The girl from the woods...The friend who is dead already..._

Savannah lifted her head, startled. She looked around, feeling disoriented. What the-

"Vannah!" Dayle shouted. "Come on. I've got you some breakfast on the table. And coffee."

Savannah pulled herself up and managed to get her hair and body washed quickly. She was no longer concerned about the voice she thought she'd heard. She supposed she'd just fallen asleep for a moment.

When she walked in the kitchen she saw her mom had set out cereal, toast and coffee for her. Dayle was sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading through her dream journal. Savannah didn't mind since she'd shared pretty much everything in there with her before.

Savannah sat and sipped at the coffee. She curled her lip in disgust at the food though. Just the thought of trying to eat made her stomach turn over. She pushed the plate and bowl away and glanced at her mom who was reading today's entry with a very strange look on her face.

"Uh... mom...?" she asked.

Dayle looked up at her and said "They called you Sienna." She sounded slightly dazed.

"Yeah I know right? This guy Chris is apparently a wacko abusive boyfriend I never knew I had." She laughed but noticed that her mom did not join in. After the silence had drawn out for a time, Savannah continued. "It was the weirdest thing. This one took place in the parking lot of that IGA in Kirkmore. Dreams are so messed up."

Dayle didn't say anything. She closed the book and set it back down on the table. She pressed her lips together.

"Mom. What is wrong with you? Why do my dreams have you so freaked out?" She squinted at her mother, wishing she would explain her bizarre reaction.

Finally Dayle seemed to shake herself and regain her composure. She raised her eyebrows and looked at her daughter with a stiff smile on her face. "Eat your breakfast baby. I bet you'll feel better getting back into the groove at work."

* * *

 _Tuesday, Universe B_

"Dayle... can I ask you something?" Sienna chewed on her lip. She was having lunch with her biological mother at a little cafe called Bean Tree. Gabe was at daycare so they had a little quiet girl time. She wasn't sure if she'd ever feel right calling her 'mom' even though calling her 'Dayle' felt a bit strange. Either way, Dayle didn't seem to mind.

Dayle looked up from her menu, curious. "Of course. What's up?"

Sienna cleared her throat. She had put off bringing this up for so long, she really didn't know the best way to approach it. But after seeing Chris yesterday, Sienna found she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"It's about...the Doctor..." she studied Dayle to gauge her reaction.

Dayle blinked and looked back down at the table. "Oh." she said softly after a moment. She fiddled with her napkin-wrapped silverware. "What do you want to know?" She finally looked back up and met her eyes.

Sienna shrugged. "Everything."

Dayle sat back in her seat and sighed heavily. After a long pause in which Sienna doubted Dayle would tell her anything, Dayle looked at her intently and said, "So about five or six years ago, before I met Jesse, this guy showed up at the apartment building, terribly injured..."

Nearly thirty minutes later, Sienna felt like her brain was going to incinerate from the batshit story her mother had just told her. She sat there, her plate untouched. Black holes and time machines and aliens that could change form. And some beings called _Time Lords_. Sienna leaned her elbows onto the table and laid her face in her hands for a moment before looking up and shaking her head. Dayle took a bite of her sandwich, looking almost amused at Sienna's reaction.

Sienna raised her eyebrows. "So... Let's say everything you've told me really actually happened. He and the...uhm... other you went back to their universe." Dayle nodded. "And you said that happened two years before you and I met, right?"

Dayle nodded again as the waitress came by to fill their drinks. Sienna waited til she'd gone to ask. "So why the hell did he come back in October? Why was he at that gas station? Why did he introduce us..." Sienna took a deep breath. "Why did he say I'd met him before?"

Dayle's face became troubled. She wiped her mouth with the napkin and tapped her index finger on the table for a moment. "I'm not sure. That day he brought you over? I only got the chance to speak with him briefly. But I know something happened. Something that involved all of us- you, me, Jesse, Gabe. He told me something had gone wrong with our timeline. And that it'd been fixed." She sighed in frustration. "But he wouldn't give me any more information than that. He told me it might be best not to talk too much about any of it for a while. It was clear he knew you quite well. He seemed worried about you for some reason. But he promised me that everything would be okay. That you would be alright."

Sienna realized that the memory of the conversation was really affecting Dayle. There were tears in her eyes. The sight hurt Sienna's heart. She reached over and squeezed her mother's hand. "Hey. I didn't mean to upset you..."

Dayle cleared her throat. "No. I think it's fine that we talked about it. It's just as he said. Everything is okay. You are alright." She actually giggled. "It's when he shows up here that we really have to worry."

Sienna tried to smile but then thought again of Chris. Of the fact that when she'd run into him in Kirkmore two months ago, he genuinely didn't seem to recognize her. She shivered.

"Dayle. Why... why do you think we don't remember anything? I'm almost positive he somehow made my ex boyfriend Chris _forget_ about me. Somehow." She chewed on her lip and saw Dayle was staring off into the distance, like she was considering something. "Do you think he... Could he have made all of us forget things?"

Dayle was quiet for a very long time. When she spoke again, she still didn't look at Sienna and her voice sounded far away. "The last thing the Doctor said to me was that he had made a promise to someone that he'd make sure you are okay." Dayle's eyes narrowed. "When I asked him who the 'someone' was, he said something like 'sometimes it's better not to know things'." She looked back up at Sienna. Blinked. "Why are you wondering all this now? Have you remembered something?"

Sienna shrugged and told her in all honesty. "I don't remember a single thing about the Doctor other than that night in October." She sipped her Pepsi. "Whatever may have happened, I guess we'll never know."


	3. Chapter 3

**_"Even nothing cannot last forever." -Neil Gaiman_**

* * *

 _Tuesday Afternoon, Universe A_

"Yes ma'am. You _can_ pay the balance of your fine online now... right." Savannah rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Just click on the link that says 'Your Library Card.' Then you can log in to your account...Okay. Okay, good bye."

She ended the call and gratefully pulled the headset off her head. Savannah sighed and checked the small digital clock she had clipped to the top of her cubicle wall. Only 2:45. _Fuck._ This day was dragging by. It didn't help that she just didn't give a shit enough to be here today.

Everyone and everything was an annoyance to her. She didn't want to deal with bitchy employees, she didn't want to deal with half deaf patrons asking her the same inane questions over and over again. She couldn't concentrate. Her mind felt fuzzy. If she could, she'd go home right now and climb back in bed. She hoped like hell she could force herself to endure the rest of this day.

The call room was empty except for Savannah and a strange older woman named Madeline Ingram who sat at a desk against the opposite wall. Madeline had worked for Sugar Creek Public Library for 25 years and seemed perfectly satisfied to remain in her low paid position. She was a dependable worker, just eccentric and she always smelled a little odd. Since the library had made cutbacks, Madeline was the only full time call center rep on days through the week. Savannah also had two temporary part time techs who helped out but they were currently out shelving books.

She stood and glanced over the top of the cubicles at Madeline who appeared to be playing a game on her phone. If Savannah was going to keep herself from climbing under her desk for a nap, she was going to need to go smoke a cigarette and fast.

Savannah cleared her throat. "Hey...Madeline. I'm going to go take a quick fifteen. You okay here?"

Madeline's eyes never left her phone. "Sure. I'm good." she replied flatly.

Savannah raised her eyebrows. Weird fuckin broad. She dug her purse out of her bottom desk drawer and headed over to the elevator. She was going to try to sneak out through the lower level to avoid the branch manager Joanne Dunkley. She knew Joanne was pissed at her for being so late this morning. She didn't tolerate tardiness in anyone, let alone her supervisors. Savannah thought it best to stay out of her way for the rest of the day if she could at all help it.

Before she stepped into the elevator, Savannah called back, "If you need help, I have Craig working the information desk and he can grab a line for you." When Madeline didn't answer, Savannah threw her hands up helplessly and got on the elevator. She pressed the button for the lower level hoping Madeline wouldn't need to bother Craig. He was her only weekday customer service staff member and if he disappeared from the info desk for too long, Joanne would throw a fit.

The elevator doors closed and nothing happened for a moment. Savannah glanced around nervously. This damn elevator was old as hell and got stuck between floors a couple times a month. She breathed a sigh of relief as it slowly started to descend. As the elevator made its way from the second floor down to the lower level, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She nearly had a heart attack when she heard that same creepy ass old woman in her head again. As before, the voice was crystal clear, as if the speaker were standing right beside her.

 _There's no doubt it was she. It was foretold. The human with the power of the Sisterhood._

Okay. Now she was definitely wide awake. Savannah's eyes darted all over the elevator as it suddenly ground to a stop. Her heart hammered in her chest as nothing happened.

"Hello?" She asked out loud just as the bell dinged and the doors swept open. She was relieved but also slightly embarrassed when she realized the elevator hadn't stopped between floors. It had simply stopped on one.

Silas Overman stood on the other side of the doors looking at her curiously for a moment before stepping on. "Hey Savannah... you alright there?" He looked slightly amused rather than concerned. She could only imagine the look on her face. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Fuck this day.

"I'm good, Silas. Just heading down for a smoke." When the doors slid closed again, she busied herself with her phone, hoping he'd take the hint that she wasn't in a socializing mood. She saw out of the corner of her eye that she needn't have worried as he seemed to be doing the same thing.

Silas had been at the library longer than Savannah had but she'd not been around him much until she'd been promoted back in November. He'd tried talking to her a few times over the past few months since she'd switched to the department right next to his. He wasn't ever creepy or overly flirtatious- he hardly seemed the type- but he did seem to have a bit of a crush. Savannah tended to avoid him. It's not that she had anything against him. He seemed pretty cool and he was obviously an extremely good looking guy.

Trouble was, she'd also heard he'd been in some trouble and ended up in rehab back in the fall. She wasn't interested in getting tangled up in anything like that. She'd spent most of her life dealing with her mom's drug issues until she'd gotten clean six years ago. She had no desire to deal with any more of _that_ bullshit.

The elevator had reached the basement and she scrambled off into the concrete corridor, headed around to the service entrance. She could exit the library there and go smoke in the courtyard. She speed-walked to avoid awkwardly winding up alongside Silas in case he was headed in the same direction. As she turned the corner in the corridor, she realized that the entire length of hallway leading to the service entrance was pitch black. The damn lights were out. She froze and felt a jolt of anxiety. She quickly pulled her smart phone back out and tried to turn on the flashlight. She couldn't believe this shit. It wasn't working.

Savannah smacked her phone uselessly and groaned. Why a grown ass woman had to be afraid of the dark was anyone's guess. It was incredibly stupid. She looked back and saw Silas was headed this way. No way was she going to play the victim and wait for him. She took a deep breath. The hallway wasn't that long. She could do this. She started forward with one hand on the wall.

It wasn't long before she found herself enveloped by blackness. It was surreal how perfect the dark was. Like her eyes were closed and someone had painted the inside of her lids with black paint. Her heart was thundering and she began to feel strange. She thought it might just be from anxiety until she started to hear a staticky sound. Like white noise. And then she heard the whispers.

Goosebumps moved up her arms. Oh what now? She couldn't quite make out the whispered words. This was different than in the elevator. This wasn't HD audio. This was like she'd picked up a weak radio signal on a walkie talkie and was overhearing bits of someone's conversation. Savannah froze as the whispers became more defined.

 _It's not so stupid Sienna. You aren't afraid of the dark. Not really. You are afraid of what the dark hides from you. You can't see clearly and you could possibly get hurt. Seems a perfectly rational fear to me._

Savannah's eyes widened. The voice was familiar. That posh English accent. The Doctor guy from her dreams?

"What is happening to me?" she asked out loud, her voice shaky.

She felt her legs go weak and her breathing become erratic. She leaned heavily against the wall. She didn't know how far down the hallway she'd gotten but she had a feeling she wasn't making it much further.

It was about then that a flashlight beam shined all around her. She looked up and squinted, saw someone walking toward her down the hall.

"Savannah? What's wrong with you?" Silas. He approached her quickly, now sounding very concerned.

He was probably right to be concerned, Savannah thought before she lost consciousness and slid down the wall.

* * *

 _Tuesday Night, Universe B_

"Silas, if I tell you something, will you promise not to think I'm crazy?" Sienna asked suddenly.

Silas raised his eyebrows and a familiar smirk appeared on his face. "Too late for that." he quipped.

Sienna threw a cushion at his head. They were currently sitting around in her small studio apartment on the sofa watching some episodes of Supernatural. She didn't have cable, but she did have an Xbox and a Netflix account.

It was Sienna's very first place of her own. She never realized how privileged she'd been growing up until she had moved into this place and was supporting herself for once. She lived in a tiny studio loft over the sub shop on Main street. Her furniture and dishes were all mismatching. Her couch folded out into a bed and she tried to bum dinner at Dayle's whenever she could. Or...at least when Jesse was cooking.

She leaned forward and gazed at her best friend solemnly. "I'm serious. This shit is really getting to me and even though Dayle knows about it, I know the subject bothers her. I need to talk to you."

Silas leaned forward as well, finally taking her seriously. "Alright See. What's happenin?"

She scratched her forehead. Where to start? She decided she'd start small. "Okay. You know my ex Chris? The one we saw at the hardware store yesterday?"

Silas nodded, his eyes growing hard "Sure, the douchebag. What did he do?"

Sienna sighed. And out comes the testosterone. "That's just it. I haven't heard anything from him since October. Not a peep. And this guy was a stalker extraordinaire every other time I've tried breaking up with him."

Silas was looking at her oddly. "Sooo... it bothers you that you haven't heard from him? This total meth head dick who broke your nose and slept with your friends while dating you? Seriously?"

Sienna made a sound of frustration. " _No!_ I'm glad I haven't heard from him. The thing is, I ran into him back in February and he didn't remember me. He has no idea who I am now." She watched Silas to see if he'd believe her.

He narrowed his eyes. "Is it the drugs?" he wondered.

Sienna shook her head. "It isn't the drugs. It was this man. A dude I met the day I left rehab. That night. I told you that I ran into Chris at the gas station. What I didn't tell you is that someone else was there."

Silas raised his eyebrows. "You aren't making any sense babe. Why did Chris forget you because of some guy?"

Sienna sighed and closed her eyes. She spoke quickly, running her words together so he wouldn't interrupt her. "The guy wasn't human see he's a species called a Time Lord from another planet and his name's the Doctor and he was there to help me that night and he punched Chris when he tried to hurt me and then he did some _thing_ to Chris's mind by touching his temples." Sienna finally took a breath. "He wiped Chris's mind. And... I think he wiped mine too. Before that."

To say that Silas looked skeptical was the understatement of the year. Sienna grimaced at him. She knew just how he felt. She'd felt the same way at lunch when Dayle had filled her in.

After a long awkward silence in which Silas was clearly hoping his friend would say she'd only been kidding, he exhaled heavily. "Okay. So you think this is true?" He studied her, now looking quite worried.

She got up and moved closer to him. She grabbed his hand and looked him in the eye imploringly. "Silas I'm telling you this _is_ true. This guy... he knows Dayle quite well. She knows more about him than I do. He is real. And he was there in that parking lot in October. And he s-s-said." Sienna stammered, as she remembered the Doctor's kind hazel eyes. "He said we'd met before even if I didn't remember."

She felt a weird sensation inside her head and she put her face in her hands. Silas put his arm around her. "Sienna, you're freaking me out here. What is going on with you?"

"Something happened." She whispered, her hands still hiding her face. "Something happened to me involving this guy the Doctor. Something big. And for some reason nobody wants me to remember it." She finally sat up straight and looked at him. "Silas I know it. I can't explain why. But I _know_ it." She searched his face willing him to believe her.

He fiddled with his lower lip, watching her intently. He was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. "Okay Sienna. I believe you."

Her relief was palpable. She squeezed his hand. She had known she could count on him.

He tilted his head. "So. This _thing_ that happened. Are we assuming it's bad?"

His question surprised her. Because of course she'd assumed it must be something terrible. But as soon as he asked it, she felt that strange sensation in her mind again and she found herself shaking her head. "No. It wasn't all bad." The words she spoke seemed to come from somewhere else. That was extremely odd. She paused a moment, her eyes shifting left and right, waiting to see if more would come. Nothing did.

"So what do you intend to do about it?" he asked, his brow furrowed. " _Is there_ something to be done about it?"

She chewed at her lip. "So... here's the thing. Dayle has his phone number. She told me she did. So what if I find a way to get it from her and just call him... or text him? What if I just hit him up?"

Silas thought for a moment. "Sounds good... but what makes you think he'll tell you anything now if he wouldn't then?"

"I get the feeling it may have something to do with my sobriety. Like, you know how the first couple weeks out of rehab, everyone kind of tiptoes around you? Like, they are afraid to even say the word "drugs" for fear you'll fall completely apart."

Silas smirked again and nodded. He could certainly relate.

"Maybe now that I'm on my feet... well maybe I can be trusted with the information." Something suddenly occurred to Sienna.

Her brown eyes went wide. "I wonder if this has anything to do with..." she was talking to herself, practically forgetting Silas was present.

"Hey! Earth to Sienna." Silas waved his hand in front of her face. She shook herself and looked at him. Sighed heavily.

"Alright. Since you seem to be taking all this in stride, I suppose there's no harm in telling you..." She swiped her hand down her face. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She'd never even told Dayle. "There's something about me that I've never told you. That I never tell anyone. Because, well, I prefer folks not to think I'm batshit."

"Jesus! There's more?" Silas looked like he'd about had enough.

Sienna rolled her eyes and held out her hand. "Let me see that finger you sliced with the box cutter yesterday."

He narrowed his eyes, looked down at his hand, then proffered it suspiciously. Sienna took hold of his hand and studied his index finger. There was a band aid wrapped around it. She tore it off and set it on the crate that doubled as a coffee table.

"What the fuck are you up to? Sienna you are seriously-"

"Shut up!" She commanded. He complied. She examined the cut. It was definitely a nasty one. Just one slip away from stitches. It wasn't actively bleeding but it gaped open and looked painful.

She looked Silas in the eyes. Then closed hers. She hadn't done this in a long while. Not since before rehab. But it came right back to her naturally.

She held her friend's hand with her right hand and placed the first two fingers of her left hand gently against the wound. She felt the familiar tickle. The current of energy that started somewhere deep inside. She breathed in the pain. And exhaled it away.

When she opened her eyes, the cut was gone.

Silas's green eyes went wide. His mouth dropped open. He snatched his hand back and turned it over to examine the finger from all angles.

Finally he stammered "You... you h-h-healed me!"

She shrugged, feeling a little lightheaded but pleased with herself. "Yeah. I do that sometimes."


	4. Chapter 4

**_"Now I know what a ghost is._**

 ** _Unfinished business, that's what."_**

 ** _-Salman Rushdie_**

* * *

 _Wednesday, Universe A_

 _In the woods. My mom is there and the Doctor. Some Hispanic guy is sitting, leaning against a tree with a broken leg and busted head. I kneel down, touch his injuries and heal him._

Savannah closed the dream journal and drummed her fingers against it. She was sitting on the couch in her mother's living room. Her latest entry from this morning troubled her more than all the others. Because her mom was in it, crying over some dark haired man she'd never seen before. And more and more, these dreams were feeling so very real to her. She could feel the breeze and smell the pine needles. She could feel the autumn leaves crunching beneath her when she knelt down in front of the man. Jesse, his name was.

Savannah had stayed home from work after the incident yesterday. Her mother had insisted. Silas Overman had driven her home and helped her inside. When Dayle had asked what was wrong, he'd told her the truth about her fainting, despite the fact that Savannah tried to lie. His honesty had pissed Savannah off, but overall she was grateful to him.

When she'd collapsed in the lower level corridor of the library, he had picked her up and carried her to the janitor's room. He had splashed some cold water on her face from the sink there until she'd woken up. She was embarrassed but she knew it could have been a lot worse. If he had informed public safety, they would have almost certainly called an ambulance. She had been curious why he hadn't.

Savannah had sat up on the cold concrete floor and leaned against a shelving unit laden with facility supplies and cleaning chemicals. He sat on a wooden pallet directly across from her. "Why didn't you call someone?" she had asked, studying him

He'd looked a little uncomfortable. "I wasn't sure if you were on something. I didn't want to get you into trouble."

She didn't quite know how to feel about that but was strangely touched that he'd been looking out for her. She told him that she thought she'd simply had an anxiety attack. She didn't mention the part about the voices, figuring he'd really think she was on drugs then. He had been so kind to her and had made her laugh. She actually felt pretty bad for judging him all this time.

Before he'd left her at her mother's house, he'd swiped her cell phone and put his number in her phone. "In case you ever need to talk." he's told her seriously. Then turned and left.

Dayle had been extremely upset and told her daughter she was afraid that she was suffering from depression. Dayle herself had had plenty of experience with depression over the years. Her own mother, Lenore had taken her life when Dayle was very young. Depression wasn't something that Dayle took lightly and she made it clear to Savannah that it was a legitimate illness and there was no reason that Savannah should suffer if there was medication that could help her. She had driven Savannah into Kirkmore to see her own Psychiatrist.

Dr. Sladen had prescribed an anti depressant called Lexapro. Savannah didn't argue. She knew she was depressed. But she wondered what her mom and Dr. Sladen would think about the fact that she was hearing voices as well. She had decided to keep that fact to herself. Something about the voices and the dreams seemed separate from her sadness. The dreams had started before the breakup after all.

She sat on the sofa, waiting for her mom to come home from picking up Ember at the school. After the dream last night, Savannah really felt she needed to talk to her mother. She wasn't stupid. She could see that Dayle was deeply troubled by the dreams. She needed to know why.

She set her journal on the coffee table and cuddled up with Ember's purple blanket. They should be home any minute. She closed her eyes. Lately, she felt she couldn't get enough sleep.

And then, that voice again.

 _She will come to Karn once more, seeking our help._

Savannah felt her heart in her throat. Her eyes sprang open. She looked around. Now there was only silence.

Her pulse was racing but she was also curious. She closed her eyes once more. Waited.

 _She doesn't know the truth. About the Time Lord or herself._

Savannah had to shake herself after she opened her eyes. She felt dazed. She grabbed her dream journal and unclipped the pen tucked inside. While her memory was fresh, she turned to a blank page and scribbled:

 _She will come to Carn? once more seeking our help._

 _She doesn't know the truth about the time lord or herself._

Then she thought for a moment and wrote:

 _The girl from the woods. The friend who is dead already._

 _There's no doubt it was she. It was foretold, the human with the power of the sisterhood._

Savannah chewed on the end of the pen. It sounded like a bunch of nonsense from a shitty movie about witches.

Just then the front door came open and in ran Ember.

"Vannah!" she shouted and ran in and jumped on her. "You didn't work today?"

Savannah giggled and gave her little sister a squeeze. Ember was a chubby little thing with huge blue eyes and their mom's curly blonde hair. She was also Savannah's favorite person on the planet. Even when Savannah was at her lowest these past few days, Ember could always bring a smile to her face.

"Nope. I was being lazy again. You got girl scouts tonight?" She quickly changed the subject.

Ember nodded proudly. "Tonight I get moved up to Junior! Will you come to the ceremony."

Savannah glanced up at Dayle who was just coming in carrying the mail and a gallon of milk.

She looked back at her sister. "Why don't you go play and we'll talk in a little bit." Ember smooched her on the cheek and ran off to her bedroom. Dayle had stuck the milk in the fridge and now came and joined her on the couch.

"Hey Vannah. How you feelin?" She gave her daughter's long brown hair a playful yank but Savannah knew her mom well enough to see the concern in her blue eyes.

Savannah sat up straighter and cleared her throat. "Mom. Can you be straight with me about something? Please."

Dayle nodded. She didn't seem at all surprised by her daughter's tone.

"These dreams I'm having. You know something you're not telling me." Savannah stated this as fact. She wasn't asking.

Her mom's face remained impassive, though Savannah saw a little twitch beside her right eye. After a long silence, Dayle asked. "Vannah. You remember the guy... Professor Smith, right?"

Savannah's eyes narrowed. Where the hell was this going. "Uhhh. The English dude right? From your college? He's the only guy you've brought home." (She didn't add "since you've been sober" though it was certainly implied.) "I think he came over one time like two years ago, then a couple times this past year?" She looked at her mom curiously. She'd never wanted to talk about him before.

Dayle shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Right, well. He's not a Physics Professor."

Savannah made a sound of frustration. "What the hell's he gotta do with my dreams? Does he travel in a blue police box to different planets? Does he fight aliens?"

Dayle stared at her. Blinked. "Well..."

"Mom. I'm not joking around. Just tell the truth." Savannah's patience was gone.

Dayle actually chuckled, put her head in her hand then looked back up. "I'm not joking baby girl." She sighed. "That dude's not just some man. He's something called a Time Lord."

Savannah gasped. "She doesn't know the truth about the time lord... or herself." she murmured, suddenly feeling very dizzy.

Dayle sat up straight. "What? Who said that? Was this a new dream?"

Savannah mind was racing. Her mom had just said "time lord". A phrase she had never heard until about five minutes ago inside her own head. That just proved it. Dayle was connected to all this somehow.

With a shaking hand, she grabbed her dream journal from the sofa beside her and turned to the latest entry with the cryptic witch nonsense. She handed it to Dayle.

"It's not just dreams anymore." she told her mother softly. "Sometimes when I close my eyes, I hear this voice. Some creepy old woman..."

Dayle's eyes ran over the words on the page. She quietly closed the book and set it in her lap. Her hand covered her mouth like she was thinking. Savannah was beginning to think she'd forgotten she was in the room.

Then suddenly her mother said. "I think it's time to call the Doctor."

* * *

 _Wednesday, Universe B_

When Sienna checked her phone after work, she was surprised to see that Dayle's mother Lenore had tried to call her. Lenore Byers was her biological grandmother and while she was a perfectly lovely woman, Sienna had only ever seen her maybe 4 or 5 times in her entire life.

Sienna started up her Chevy Cruze and checked her voicemail.

" _Sienna sweetheart, this is your grandmother, Lenore. I was wondering if you might have a minute to come by and see me this evening. It's... it's important."_

Sienna squinted down at her phone. What the hell could the woman have to tell her of such importance? Why wouldn't Dayle have called instead? She sighed and dialed Lenore back.

"Hey... it's Sienna. Is it okay if I head right over? I just got off work."

When Sienna knocked on the door at Lenore's home on Shadow Pines drive, she found herself suddenly very nervous. When a family member you barely knew summoned you to talk about something important, the news couldn't be good. Lenore answered almost immediately.

"Come in sweetheart." The attractive older woman looked her over as she entered the foyer. "You are looking wonderful."

"Thank you." Sienna hadn't quite worked out what to call Lenore. Clearly she thought of herself as Sienna's grandma so she thought just calling her Lenore would be disrespectful. She tried to avoid addressing her by name altogether if she could help it.

They sat down in the homey living room after Sienna declined an offer of a beverage. Truth be told, she'd kill for a cup of coffee but she wanted to cut to the chase here. The suspense was killing her.

The two women sat across from each other and shared a comfortable silence before the older woman began.

"Has your mother ever told you that I have something of a strange gift?" Lenore studied Sienna carefully with her beautiful blue gray eyes.

Sienna certainly hadn't been expecting that as an opener. A gift? Her heart began to beat double time. She thought about her own healing ability. She shook her head no, and waited to hear more.

Lenore nodded and cleared her throat. "Well. Since I was young I've always just kind of known things before they happen. Clairvoyance they call it." Lenore was clearly trying to gauge her granddaughter's reaction, unsure if she would be believed.

Sienna's eyes went wide. Oh she definitely believed her. This couldn't be a coincidence. She very nearly blurted out that she was able to heal people. Instead she pressed her lips together and gestured for Lenore to continue.

The older woman nodded and obliged. "Lately, I've been having strange dreams. The last time this happened was a couple years back. Your mother was involved with an odd fellow called the Doctor. Do you know him?"

Sienna blinked. "I do." She had no idea Lenore had been tied up in all that mess.

"So these dreams I'm having. They are about you." Now Sienna could see the concern in her grandmother's face and for the first time she began to feel truly scared. "I dream you are in some strange barren landscape. The earth and rocks are all red. There are caves. And there is a group of peculiar women wearing red robes. They are keeping you there. They won't let you leave."

Sienna swallowed and gripped the arms of the easy chair in which she sat. "Is that all that happens in the dreams?" she wondered.

Lenore now got a perplexed look on her face. "There's one other thing, though I'm not sure it involves you. I keep seeing this man I've never met before. He calls himself the Doctor. But he's certainly not the Doctor I met. He is lost and needs help finding his way. It's like he's reaching out, calling for someone to help him."

Sienna didn't realize she was shaking until Lenore leaned forward and placed a hand on her trembling leg in a comforting gesture. Then she continued. "This man. He is young like the Doctor. Only he has longish blonde hair. He wears striped pants and an athletic looking sweater, maybe tennis? And a long coat and a hat. Sienna sweetheart... why are you crying?"

Sienna was startled when she swiped under her eyes to find that Lenore wasn't mistaken. She was crying and had no idea why. If she was honest she felt shaken to her core. She knew without a doubt all this had something to do with what she'd been made to forget.

It was so strange. There wasn't a trace of the memories there but Sienna felt like she could almost, very nearly make out the empty space they once filled. It was like that feeling when you had a dream and forgot it. If you thought about it real hard, you could _almost_ remember something-but nothing tangible. It was like the dream had left an imprint and you could only feel remnants of the way it made you feel.

Sienna wiped at her streaming eyes with the Kleenex Lenore handed to her. She was certain now that something had been taken from her. Something important. And for the first time, she felt angry.

Yes. It was high time she had a word with the Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

**_"There's a crack in everything,_**

 ** _that's how the light gets in."_**

 ** _-Leonard Cohen_**

* * *

 _Wednesday Night, Universe A_

After Dayle had told her this long, complicated story about parallel universes and time travel and telepathy, Savannah hadn't said much. She'd just retreated to her room. Her head was spinning, her heart was pounding. Too fucking much. This was too fucking much and all she could think of was getting the hell away from here. So she texted Silas. One word.

 _Help._

She wasn't sure what she expected from him but he was the only one she could think of. She'd never had many girlfriends and clearly Evan was out.

It wasn't long before Silas wrote back.

 _Pass out in another dark hallway?_

Savannah giggled despite herself.

 _Nope. I need to escape and my car is still parked at the library._

He replied immediately.

 _I can hardly resist the damsel in distress bit. Just hope there's no dragon. A bit rusty with the dragon slaying. Be there in ten._

Savannah changed quickly out of her pajama pants into some clean black jeans and her favorite Sleeping with Sirens t-shirt and headed out to wait for her ride.

When she walked by Dayle's bedroom, she noticed the door was cracked open and she heard her mom in there on the phone. _Better let her know I'm going out or she might send an intergalactic search party after me,_ Savannah thought grimly.

"Honey, I'm tellin you. These dreams are Sienna's memories. How the hell can that be?"

Savannah flattened herself against the wall in the hallway and listened in.

Dayle raised her voice. "Well you better figure something out Time Lord. This is affecting her. She's hearing fuckin voices. Talkin about Karn and the Sisterhood for chrissakes. What the hell is that about?"

Savannah's eyes closed. What in the hell was going on here? Was this really her life?

Now her mom sounded downright pissed. "I don't give a shit if you _are_ trapped on some planet called Trenzalore. You better figure something out. This is my kid Doctor... and you fucking owe me."

Savannah had heard quite enough. She went to wait for Silas on the porch.

When he pulled up, she cracked the front door and shouted inside, "Going to get my car Mom. See you later." and ran out to Silas's blue pickup truck.

When she climbed into the passenger seat, he was looking at her curiously. "Where to Princess?" he quipped.

"Just away." she replied, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as the truck left the curb.

Silas didn't ask any more questions. He just looked straight ahead, an amused smirk on his face. He pressed the screen on his phone he had propped on a mount on the dash and "I Saw my Twin" by Hopalong came blaring from the speakers. Savannah glanced over at him. She definitely approved of his musical taste.

 _I saw my twin working in a Waffle House..._

She realized that he looked especially cute tonight, for once foregoing that tan stocking cap he favored. He had grown out a little stubble and was wearing his dark framed glasses that would probably look hipster and laughable on anyone else. Silas just about pulled it off though.

They rode in silence for a while. He had skirted downtown where the library was and headed out toward the country. Savannah just sat back and tried to relax. She tried not to think about all the bullshit she'd heard tonight. About some alternate universe version of herself named Sienna who'd lost her memory. She just wanted to have one evening this week where she didn't have to deal with her mom's constant hovering. Where she didn't have to feel anxious or sad or bizarre.

He turned left onto Old Airport road and pulled into the abandoned hangar. Sugar Creek's airport hadn't been in operation since the seventies. It was quiet and dark here with a nice view of the town. He turned the music off.

Finally Silas spoke. "So are you going to keep me in suspense or are you going to tell me what we're running away from?"

Savannah sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger. "Honestly, I had to get the hell away from my mom." She looked back up at him and scoffed at herself. "Probably sounds pretty fuckin lame coming from a 24 year old woman."

Silas parked the truck facing the city lights and pulled up the emergency brake. He looked over at her, raised his eyebrows. "I can relate. My mom's about to drive me up a wall. She hasn't exactly trusted me since I got out of rehab. She's constantly checking up on me." He suddenly looked self conscious and she suspected it was the admission about rehab.

Savannah felt bad all over again for her previous judgment of him. After seeing her mom through recovery, one would think she'd have more empathy. She definitely understood that not being trusted was a big deal to a recovering addict. At that thought, Savannah closed her eyes.

And yet, here she was not trusting Dayle. Her mother had never lied to her, not even when she was using. And she certainly wasn't crazy. Whatever was going on, she realized that her mom wasn't to blame and she was wrong to have just run out like that. She put her face in her hands and made a sound of frustration.

"What's up?" Silas asked gently.

Savannah looked up at him, her brow furrowed. "You know, my mom was a real mess most of the time I was growing up. Heroin."

Silas looked surprised. "Yeah?"

"I had to be the adult most of the time. At least I thought I did. I didn't ever let her see when I was hurt. I never even really let it show when I was pissed at her. I felt like it was my job." Savannah had no idea why she was telling this boy she barely knew all this. But it felt good to be letting it out just the same. "And now she's clean and strong. She's got her life on track. And mine's kinda falling apart. And she's just trying to help me and be my mom in a way she never had to be before. And I'm not letting her. What the hell is wrong with me?" She chuckled darkly, feeling like a total dick.

Silas seemed to think about it for a minute, then he reached over and very naturally took Savannah's hand. "I guess it ain't easy seein someone who's fucked up a bunch as reliable. Especially when you're used to taking care of them." Savannah imagined he was applying that fact to his own situation, maybe realizing he was being a little hard on his mom as well.

Savannah looked him in his beautiful green eyes and smiled. "Yeah. Maybe you're right." She squeezed his hand, feeling grateful.

"You want me to take you back to get your car now?" he asked after a moment.

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea."

When they pulled up to the library, Savannah was too distracted with telling Silas about a concert she'd gone to back in August to notice anything was amiss in the parking lot.

"Well, I'm jealous." he told her. "The last time I went to a show was over two years ago. And I was so fucked up, I barely even remember it."

They laughed as Silas pulled up beside Savannah's Chevy Cruze. And then they both suddenly grew quiet.

The chemistry between them was evident. Savannah couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so good around a guy. If she was honest, Evan had never made her feel like this. She'd been attracted to him because he was college educated and seemed stable. She'd always dated loser guys in the past and she supposed she always believed deep down Evan was better than her. He had certainly never disabused her of that notion.

"So." Silas said finally. "Will I see you back at work tomorrow?" He squinted over at her, curious.

"Definitely." she told him. "I don't know. Maybe...we could have lunch or something?" she asked, suddenly feeling shy.

His face lit up. He nodded. "You got it Princess."

Savannah laughed and that was when something caught her eye. Over in the corner of the parking lot, not very far from her car. The blue police box. She gasped.

"Savannah? What is it?" Silas worried.

* * *

 _Wednesday Night, Universe B_

Sienna knew it wouldn't be easy getting the Doctor's number from Dayle. She was determined though that even if Dayle wouldn't _give_ it to her, she would find some way to get it. She didn't feel right being sneaky, but this shit was too important.

Sienna left Lenore's house and showed up at the apartment unannounced. Jesse looked pleased to see her as always. "Hey girl. We were just going to order a pizza. You eaten yet?"

Sienna joined them for dinner and when Jesse was putting the baby down for bed, she cornered her mother in the kitchen where she was washing the few plates and cups they'd used.

"Dayle. I need you to give me the Doctor's phone number." Her brown eyes were determined, brooking no argument. That didn't mean Dayle didn't give it her best shot.

"Sienna, I don't think that's a great idea." Dayle sighed. "Short of an emergency, I don't feel right just calling him up for a chat."

Sienna crossed her arms and nodded. "Which is why _you're_ not the one calling him. I am. Something is not right here. He did something to me. He made me forget something that he should not have. I'm owed an explanation."

Dayle raised an eyebrow. "Sweetheart you don't _know_ that. You just suspect-"

"No." Sienna said, her voice now hard. "I do know. I can't explain how, but I do."

Dayle narrowed her eyes. "Why are you so angry? Has something happened?"

Sienna sighed and sat in one of the bar height stools in the kitchen. "I just left your mom's house." She fiddled with the silver necklace she was wearing. "She called me earlier and asked me over. She's been having _dreams_ about me." She gave Dayle a meaningful look.

Dayle's eyes widened. She dropped the dish towel she'd been holding and pulled a stool up right next to her daughter.

"What are the dreams about?" It was clear she took this very seriously.

"Well, one of them is about me in some weird place with some cult sounding chicks wearing red robes. They are holding me captive apparently. But it was the other dream..." Sienna felt an inexplicable chill roll through her body.

She closed her eyes and took a breath, then opened them once more. "When she told me about the other dream, about some guy she's never seen before, I had... a reaction. Mom, I know the guy. I don't know how I know that but I know him. And I know him well."

Dayle looked shocked, maybe just as much because Sienna had just called her "mom" for the first time ever as because of the revelation about the stranger.

Dayle looked down at her hands. "And what if the Doctor can't tell you for some reason. What if he can't offer a satisfactory explanation?"

Sienna sighed. "I have to try. This is driving me fucking nuts." She looked into Dayle's eyes, imploring. "Please."

After a prolonged silence, Dayle shrugged helplessly and pulled her phone out her pocket. "You sure you don't want me to call?" she wondered.

Sienna handed over her phone. "Just put his number in my contacts for me. I think I'll call him when I get home.

Dayle reluctantly obliged and then passed Sienna back her phone. Sienna immediately got up to go.

At the door, Dayle looked at her daughter very seriously. "Please let me know what's going on. These dreams my mother are having... this could be something very serious, even dangerous, for you."

Sienna finally smiled. "I know it. And I will." She gave Dayle a big hug and kissed her on the cheek.

When she reached her apartment she found she was suddenly nervous. No big deal. Just had to convince some alien time traveler to give up an apparently important secret.

She sat heavily on her lumpy, second-hand sleeper sofa and dialed the number.

The phone made a few normal ringing sounds before she heard a strange wheezing sound over the line. After a long silence in which Sienna very nearly hung up, there was an answer. A voice that sounded familiar, even after all these months.

"Sienna." the Doctor greeted.

She was practically speechless. "H-h-how'd you know it was me?" she asked, wondering if it was some strange alien telepathy thing.

He laughed. "Because your number is programmed into my mobile."

Sienna could feel her heart hammering in her chest. But she found her anger was more powerful than any nerves she might have. Before she could chicken out, she blurted, "You wiped my memory, didn't you?"

He sighed, a sad sound. "Sienna. Please listen to me. Whatever happens- and I'm not sure what is going to happen- I need you to know that I only did what I thought was right at the time. And I'm not so sure anymore that it was. But... regardless, I did it for the right reasons. And I hope some day you'll understand that." She heard genuine regret in his voice and it served to dampen some of the anger inside of her. It was clear he cared for her quite a lot.

"Alright, look." Sienna declared firmly. "I'm sure you had your reasons. Maybe you thought you were protecting me. But I've been clean for over six months here. I'm really doing well. I have my own place and a good job. But something still ain't right for me. Something is missing. I can sense it."

"Yes, well. I was actually expecting your call." he told her.

Sienna's eyes narrowed. "And why is that?"

He sighed. "Because I just received a call from the Dayle in my universe. Something odd is happening. And I haven't worked out exactly what's going on yet, but it looks as if, despite the promise I made, I didn't succeed in erasing your memories completely. They've just sort of... gone someplace else."

"Doctor, please. _Who_ did you make a promise to? My grandma, Lenore. She's having dreams again. One of them is about some man. Some man with blonde hair who is lost and needs help. He says _he_ is the Doctor. Is that what this is about? Who _is_ he?"

The Doctor was quiet. When he spoke again, his voice sounded different. Strong. Determined. "Sienna Woods, I swear we are going to fix this. And I promise, I will return what was taken from you."

Sienna breathed a sigh of relief. She honestly hadn't thought it would be this easy. "Seriously? You're coming back? Oh man. That is fuckin great." She stood up and began pacing her small apartment, feeling elated, energized.

"Well. That's not _entirely_ accurate." he clarified. "It's won't exactly be the _me_ you've met before."

Sienna blinked and stopped pacing. She sighed deeply and plopped back onto her couch. Shook her head. "Okay. What the hell does that mean?"

The Doctor chuckled softly, tiredly. "What exactly do you know about regeneration?"


	6. Chapter 6

**_"Trust, but verify."_**

 ** _-Russian Proverb_**

* * *

 _Wednesday Night, Universe A_

Savannah didn't answer Silas. She couldn't believe her own eyes. She reached for the door handle of the pickup truck with a shaking hand and slowly got out. She stood staring, wide-eyed at the blue police box that had never been there before

"Hey, Savannah. What the hell's gotten into you?" He had gotten out of the truck and was gazing at her, baffled at her sudden shocked silence.

She didn't speak. She just pointed.

Silas looked up at the box. He sounded confused. "Huh. Well where the hell did that thing come from? Sure as shit wasn't here when I left work earlier..." He took a step toward it.

Savannah put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Silas. Don't." Her pulse was racing. It was actually here. It was the TARDIS that her mother had told her about, that she'd _dreamed_ about. And if everything Dayle said was true, if her dreams were to be believed, they were looking at a time machine that was bigger on the inside. And the Doctor must be nearby. She really didn't want Silas getting involved in this nonsense. She suspected shit was about to get dangerous.

He turned and looked at her, curious. "What? It's just some old police public call box. It's probably part of that upcoming British exhibit." He ignored her concern and approached the blue box.

She let out a sound of frustration. "Silas, you don't understand. This has nothing to do with the library." Too late. He tried the door. She was relieved when he found it was locked.

She sighed and attempted to divert his attention. "Hey, so. Guess I'm gonna get going. Thanks for bringing me to my car." She made as if she was going to get in her Chevy Cruze.

But now Silas was intrigued. He'd placed his hand against the side of the box. "Weird." he murmured. "It's like... vibrating. Like...I don't know. It's alive or something." He turned and looked back at Savannah, squinting. "Do you know something about this?"

Before Savannah could reply, the door of the blue box suddenly came open and her heart leaped into her throat. _Oh great. Here we go._

A man stepped out. A man Savannah had never seen in her entire life. She blinked, stunned. This was most definitely _not_ her mom's quirky friend Professor Smith. It was also not the cute blonde dude she'd been dreaming about. This guy was kinda old with some _serious_ eyebrows. He walked toward Silas who had taken a few steps back and was staring at the guy in disbelief

"And who exactly are you?" the guy demanded of Silas, his accent either Irish or Scottish. Savannah had always had a hard time telling them apart.

Silas looked startled and flustered as all hell. "Uhm... I'm Silas? I was just... uh..."

"Stop talking." the stranger commanded, his prominent eyebrows making him look permanently grouchy. Silas complied, his mouth snapping shut. To his credit, he looked more confused than actually intimidated.

The old guy crossed his arms over his chest. "Would you like to explain why on earth you're trying to open the door to my TARDIS?"

Before Silas could conjure up any sort of response, the man had finally noticed Savannah standing there. He turned his back on Silas entirely and his expression softened. "Savannah Moss." he greeted her.

She looked around. Before she could stop herself, she burst out "Who the fuck _are_ you?"

She was surprised to learn that it was possible for him to scowl even more."What exactly is it with your family? You seem perfectly normal until you open your mouths. Do you even _know_ any words that aren't four letters?"

Now it was Savannah's turn to scowl. "Listen Gramps. I'm in no mood to be lady-like at the moment. Please just tell me what is going on here." She crossed her arms and glared.

Silas had walked over and now placed his arm around her waist protectively. He stood quietly for the moment observing.

The old guy rolled his eyes. "I thought your mother explained everything to you. I'm the Doctor." He gestured grandly, as if that explained everything.

She narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Why don't I just go ahead and call my mom. I'm sure she can clear this up." She pulled out her cell phone and began to dial her mom. "Because I know what the guy looks like. And you ain't him."

The man's face suddenly turned very serious, almost sad. "No... please don't do that."

His response threw her off. Her brow furrowed and she ended the call. "And why not?"

He adjusted his black jacket, seemed almost at a loss for words. Finally he looked Savannah dead in her eyes. "Did she tell you anything about regeneration?" he asked.

Savannah thought for a moment. "Something about when you... when _Time Lords_ die they change completely or something. Become a different person." She tried to ignore the fact that Silas was now looking at her like she had grown a third eye on her forehead.

The old guy raised his eyebrows, as if to say "exactly."

Savannah looked at him skeptically, a bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. "But my mom called _her_ Doctor. She called him honey. I-I-I heard her. Why didn't _he_ come?"

The man pressed his lips together, then finally smiled. Sadly. "I'm afraid I couldn't get away just then. I- _he_ died before he had a chance." He looked down at his hands.

Savannah suddenly found that she believed him. And she found she was absolutely heartsick for her mom. She wasn't stupid. She knew Dayle had been crazy in love with that Professor Smith guy. She wouldn't talk about it but she saw how they'd looked at each other. She saw that Dayle wasn't interested in any other guys. He'd disappeared for a couple years but then suddenly, back in October he'd turned back up and her mom had seemed over the moon. They'd gone to a movie together and he'd even spent the night since Ember was staying with a friend. He'd showed up again around Christmas time and brought her mom some gifts. Had even brought a toy for Ember. They hadn't seen him since. Savannah had been too wrapped up in her own drama to even ask about any of it.

She put her hand over her mouth. He was dead and her mom didn't have a clue.

"Savannah. Are you going to tell me what is happening here?" Silas asked her impatiently.

She looked over at him and smiled awkwardly. "Hey Silas. Why don't you head on home. I have some... uh family stuff I need to deal with."

Silas made a derisive sound. "The fuck I will. You don't even know this dude. I'm not leavin til _he_ does." He gave the Doctor a stern look, stood up a little straighter and puffed out his chest. Savannah very nearly laughed out loud. Her cute new friend was trying to punk a one thousand year old alien.

The older man simply ignored him and gestured emphatically toward Savannah. "Listen. I promised your mother I would come and help fix whatever is wrong with you and I meant it. I just didn't realize it would take quite this long to get here." He sighed. "But I'm here now. And I assure you, I _am_ the Doctor."

Silas was staring at her again, his eyes narrowed. "So what's wrong with you that he's here to fix?"

"Uh... well..." Savannah's eyes darted from Silas to the Doctor and back.

The Doctor eyed Silas like he was a complete moron. "It's fairly straightforward. She's been seeing the memories of her parallel universe counterpart in her dreams and hearing the cryptic thoughts of some mad woman called the Reverend Mother from a planet called Karn." He addressed Savannah once more. "Can we go now, please?" He gestured toward the TARDIS, then snapped his fingers and the door flew open with a squeak.

"That's what you call _straightforward_?" Silas scoffed. He was decidedly unimpressed by the Doctor.

The feeling seemed mutual. The Doctor raised an eyebrow and looked at Savannah. "Your friend here is seriously getting on my last nerve. He won't be coming with us, right?"

Silas suddenly grabbed Savannah's hand and laced his fingers through hers. "Try and stop me." he challenged.

Savannah rolled her eyes. "Let's go." she told Silas and the Doctor begrudgingly led the way to the blue box.

 _This will be interesting,_ she thought dryly.

* * *

 _Thursday Morning, Universe B_

Sienna woke to a knock on her door. She had passed out on the sofa, not even bothering to pull out the bed. She had stayed up half the night, wondering if the Doctor was going to show up.

She sat straight up when she became aware of the knocking. Was this him?

She jumped up and ran to the door. "Coming!" she called.

She tore the door open to find Silas standing there, wet from the rain with two cups of coffee from Bean Tree. She tried her best not to look disappointed but could tell she failed by the look he gave her.

"Expecting someone else, were we?" he wondered, handing a cup to her. He looked amused more than hurt. She had told him last night who she was waiting for.

"Thanks sweetie." She told him sincerely. "I'm just a wreck here. I have no clue what to expect. He said he won't even look the same as he did before."

Sienna disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a clean, if threadbare brown towel. She threw it at him.

Silas strolled over and sat on the couch and dried his face and jacket a bit. "So are you just going to sit here alone all day and wait for him?" he wondered, clearly disapproving.

"I wish you could wait with me." she told him honestly. He was on his way to work. Sienna was off today since she was scheduled for Saturday this week. She sat across from him in the ugly green recliner that was crooked and didn't exactly recline anymore.

Silas grumbled. "You could at least meet the dude in a public place." She knew he was doing his protective thing and she was appreciative even though she felt it was out of place in this situation.

She smirked. "This isn't some fuckboy I met on Tindr Si."

He chuckled despite himself

"I figure if he's not here by noon, I'll text him or something." She shrugged, gnawing on her bottom lip. "Not entirely up to speed on inter-universe communications." She sipped her coffee.

"Who you trying to kid?" he teased, sticking his feet up on the crate coffee table. "You kinda suck at in-universe communications." He grinned widely.

"Oh fuck off." she giggled.

Suddenly, the air in Sienna's small apartment seemed to move all around them rapidly, like they were stuck in a miniature whirlwind. They both stood and looked around, startled. Then the room was filled with a raucous wheezing, groaning sound. A sound she remembered from back in October when the Doctor had delivered her to Dayle's apartment.

Sienna gasped. "It's the Doctor." she whispered.

And sure enough, a blue police box materialized right in the corner of her living room.

Sienna instinctively took a step backwards and placed herself beside Silas. She was grateful when his arm went around her protectively. She wasn't quite sure why she felt a stab of fear all of a sudden. Just a sketchy situation, she supposed.

The door squeaked open and and an average looking middle aged man with dark hair and an unfortunate mustache/goatee combo stepped out. He wore a poofy black button down shirt with a strangely embroidered collar along with black gloves. He grinned widely.

"Sienna." he greeted. "It's wonderful to see you again." His blue eyes sparkled.

She shook off her friend's arm and stepped forward shyly. "D-doctor?" she asked.

"That's right. I told you I wouldn't be the same man." he giggled an odd little giggle. "But, I'm here now. And I believe there's something you want from me?" His eyebrows raised, almost playfully.

Before Sienna could answer, Silas put a hand on her arm and spoke softly in her ear. "See. This don't feel right. This guy... he's... there's something wrong with him."

She turned to look at her friend, her brow furrowed "What are you talking about?" she whispered back.

"That dude. Something's off. Is he really who you were expecting?" Silas insisted in a fierce whisper.

"You do realize I'm standing right here." the man told them impatiently.

"Hey. Doctor." Sienna said, "Could you just give me a minute with my friend? Feel free to make yourself at home... or whatever."

The man giggled that weird little giggle of his and nodded toward the blue box. "I feel most at home in my TARDIS. I'll just wait in there." He turned and and went in, closing the door behind him.

Sienna crossed her arms and turned to look at Silas. "Si. What the hell are you doing?" she sounded every bit as exasperated as she felt.

He laughed in disbelief. "I can't believe you're exasperated with _me_ right now. You're gonna trust _that guy?_ Are you fucking kidding me?" Silas began fiddling with his stocking cap. "You can't tell me he doesn't give you a bad feeling?" he insisted.

Sienna shook her head as if to clear it. She _did_ have a bad feeling... In fact, she'd had a bad feeling since the TARDIS materialized in her living room. Her eyes narrowed. Silas was right. She didn't trust this bizarre guy. Something was very wrong here. As strange as the Doctor had been when she met him, the one thing she remembered clearly was how comfortable and at ease she'd felt in his presence. This was definitely something else.

She sighed. "Okay. You're right. Something's wrong about him. So what do I do? Tell him to kick rocks?"

Silas thought for a moment. "Well, since your mom knows him so well, maybe you should have meet you later when you're with her and Jesse. That way you won't be alone _and_ she'll be there to verify whatever bs he's trying to tell you." He looked at Sienna earnestly. "But you can't go anywhere with this guy. On my life, he's up to something."

Sienna nodded, still feeling slightly confused. She walked over and knocked gingerly on the TARDIS door.

The man reappeared in the doorway and smiled broadly at Sienna. "Shall we go my dear?", he inquired, offering his hand.

Sienna found herself drawn forward. "Sure." she answered. She allowed herself to be led by the hand into the bright white control room and the door closed behind her. Silas was left on the other side, in her living room.

"But... Silas...?" she began uncertainly.

The man walked up and cupped her chin with his gloved hand, looked into her brown eyes with sparkling blue eyes and said. "Everything will be just fine. The Doctor's here."

Sienna sat mechanically in a nearby chair.

 _Everything will be just fine._

* * *

Silas could not believe what had just happened. He was now alone in the empty studio apartment. The strange blue machine had just disappeared taking Sienna with it.

She'd stood there and admitted something wasn't right, then turned around and walked right into the blue box with that weirdo. Like... she was in a trance or something.

She'd left so damn quickly her coffee was still sitting on the table. In fact... _Oh shit._ She'd even left her phone here. Silas felt the panic inside him quadruple. Now there would be no way to contact her. No way for her to contact anyone else.

He ran over to her phone and picked it up with a trembling hand. He was grateful she didn't have it locked. He found her mother's number immediately and dialed.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hey Sienna. Heard anything back from the Doctor?"

He was near tears when he replied, "Dayle. This is Silas. Something is very wrong."


	7. Chapter 7

_**"Invisible threads are the strongest ties."**_

 _ **-Nietzsche**_

* * *

 _The TARDIS, Universe A_

"So, you're telling me my mom has known all about this crazy shit for like five or six years?" Savannah was leaning against the console feeling completely overwhelmed.

Silas was walking all over the control room, fascinated. He walked up the steps to the upper deck. Examined the shelves of books there. Back down to the control deck. Studied the controls, marveling at the buttons and knobs and levers. The Doctor was watching him like a hawk and would occasionally snap, "Don't touch that!"

" _Doctor._ " Savannah raised her voice to get his attention. "My mom? She's known about all this for several years?"

The Doctor turned toward her finally, his arms crossed. "Yes. Dayle first traveled with me in your timestream, 2012."

Savannah threw her hands up, incredulous. "I can't believe she never said anything about any of it. We've always been so close. Like, best friends. I thought she could tell me anything."

The Doctor walked toward her, studying her face. "And would you have believed her?"

Savannah thought about it. "I don't know." she admitted. "But... I mean. If she'd have showed me..." She shook her head. "It's like she's just had this whole other life all this time that I wasn't a part of."

The Doctor squinted at her. "You make it sound so selfish. Tell me, does your mother know every little thing about your life? Every little secret? Every adventure you've been on?"

Savannah laughed derisively. "Well now that you mention it. There was that one time me and Barb Schroeder snuck off to Akron to see My Chemical Romance live. Totally smoked a joint that night. Definitely comparable to traveling to another universe and banging a Time Lord." She rolled her eyes and turned her back on him.

"Hey!" The Doctor shouted, indignant. "That is your mother you're talking about."

She turned back to look at him, her eyes narrowed. "Oh, am I being disrespectful to my mom now? Do me a favor. Don't. Don't give this morally superior garbage. You fucking _endangered_ her. From what she told me, she risked her life more than once. Did it ever even occur to either of you that this might affect her kids? What if she had been hurt or... or died even?" She walked right up to him, now definitely pissed off. "And did it occur to you that you may be putting her sobriety at risk? Or were you too busy fighting aliens and having your creepy little space romance to get the memo about her heroin addiction?"

"Alright." Silas stepped between them, all cool-headed and collected. He stepped close to Savannah, put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in her eyes. "I know you have to be feeling all sorts of crazy shit right now. This whole situation is absolute madness. But maybe we should hear what he has to say about those dreams you're having before we do the whole 'you're not my dad' drama?" There was humor in his eyes and he smirked at her.

Silas had a surprisingly calming effect on her. Savannah took a deep breath, then couldn't help but giggle. She made a sound of frustration. "Fine." She turned and walked over to a futuristic looking silver chair. She sat and crossed her arms, stared pointedly at the Doctor.

Silas turned to look at him also, his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans.

The Doctor glared back at him. "Oh aren't you just the little peacemaker? Your interference wasn't necessary." he grumbled and walked over to the center console to fiddle with some controls.

Silas scoffed. "Dude. She was ready to take your head off." He put his hands up, as if to surrender. "Maybe I should've let her."

"The dreams Doctor." Savannah murmured. "What the hell's happening to me?"

The Doctor sighed. "Well obviously you have some sort of telepathy like your mother." He paused and looked at her expectantly. "I'm assuming you knew that about your mother?"

She nodded and looked at Silas, explaining. "Mom's always been a little spooky. Just kind of knows things about people. Even people she's just met." She turned back and looked up at the Doctor. "But... I'm telling you. Nothing like this has _ever_ happened to _me_."

He frowned. "Well, there are numerous forms of telepathy you know. There's claircognizance- which is what your mother has. She has the gift of knowing. There is clairvoyance, which is the gift of seeing into the future. There's telekinesis, the gift of manipulating your environment with your mind. There's also-"

"Doctor, I'm telling you. I have none of it. I'm totally boring and ordinary." Savannah shrugged, her brown eyes looking up at him, genuinely confused.

He shook his head, his expression skeptical. "Well that's impossible. Perhaps the gift has been dormant until now. But it must be there." He paused for a moment, then walked over and knelt down in front of her.

He held his hands up toward either side of her head and asked "Do you mind if I take a look?"

Savannah's eyes went wide. "Uhhh. Take a look at what?" She sat back in the chair, shrinking away from him, uncomfortable with his sudden proximity to her.

He looked at her like she might be a little slow. "At your _mind_. To see what's going on there."

"Will it hurt her?" Silas asked, taking a step toward them.

The Doctor didn't even bother turning to face him to reply. "No Sir Lancelot. It won't _hurt_ her." He rolled his eyes.

Savannah relaxed a bit but was still suspicious. "What will you be able to see?"

"Not much." he assured her, placing his fingertips at her temples. "Just close your eyes and relax."

She sighed and did as she was told. She could feel a strange sensation inside her head. A tickle.

"And by not much, of course, I mean, well, virtually everything." The Doctor muttered softly.

Savannah gasped, about to push him away.

He shushed her. "Keep still. I'm only interested in your telepathic abilities." She grumbled but allowed him to proceed.

It felt... weird and intrusive. But as promised, it didn't hurt and it was over quickly.

When the Doctor took his fingertips away, Savannah opened her eyes and saw that he was gazing at her in surprise. He stood up slowly and walked away, lost in thought. Her heart started to race, imagining what he may have seen.

"Well." Savannah demanded, scrambling to her feet. "What is it? What's wrong with me?"

He turned back to look at her, shrugged. "You're totally boring and ordinary."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "Yes. Seriously. You have absolutely no telepathic abilities whatsoever. You're just a normal human female suffering from a bit of depression because your dull boyfriend Evan dumped you."

"Hey!" she snapped angrily.

The Doctor paid no attention to her reaction. He scratched his head, still looking surprised. "I mean, clearly you have some issues with judgment because you seem to have a bit of a thing for Lancelot here but otherwise, you seem totally normal."

"Goddammit dude! What the hell?" Savannah shrieked at him. She glanced over at Silas, feeling mortified. He was trying his best not to crack up laughing.

The Doctor sighed. "I suppose our next move is to go have a little talk with the Reverend Mother on Karn." He didn't appear to relish the prospect.

"You mean... we're going to another planet?" Silas asked excitedly. He certainly seemed to have adjusted quickly to this absurd situation.

Savannah scoffed. "I suspect we're going to a whole other universe." She crossed her arms, still thoroughly pissed at the Doctor's indiscretion.

The Doctor stepped to the console and pulled a lever. A peculiar wheezing, groaning sound filled the control room.

"Not just yet." The Doctor remarked. "I think I should first go see the Sisterhood in _our_ universe." He pulled a monitor looking thing around and studied it. "After all. If Sienna is connected to them there, then it stands to reason, _you_ are connected with them here."

Silas cleared his throat. "So... _who_ exactly is Sienna?" he wondered.

* * *

 _Thursday Morning, Universe B_

Silas pulled up into the parking lot of Dayle's apartment building. He parked his pickup truck quickly and headed into the lobby. He skipped the elevator and took the stairs two at a time. There was no way he'd be able to stand around waiting for the slow ass contraption to make its way to the sixth floor.

He was out of breath when he reached Dayle's door. He knocked loudly and stood shifting his weight impatiently from one foot to the other. He'd been here with Sienna many time and Dayle and Jesse had always been awesome and welcoming to him.

Under the current circumstances, he felt Dayle would be fully justified in kicking him right in the nuts. He couldn't believe he'd just stood by and watched while Sienna got taken by some psycho alien dick.

Dayle opened the door holding her little boy Gabe. Her face was a mirror of his own concern. "Hey Si. Come in." She sounded distracted.

He entered the apartment to see Jesse was home too, pacing the living room. When he saw Silas, he walked over to him quickly. "Tell us _exactly_ what happened. Are you sure it wasn't the Doctor?" He put his arm around his wife and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Silas was at a loss for words. He shrugged. "I-I-I really can't be _sure_ of anything. All I know is that something was not right. The guy was just, you know, bizarre. Like, a little off center."

Jesse gave Dayle a look. "Kinda sounds like the Doctor to me." he pointed out.

Silas shook his head emphatically. "No. I'm telling you. It was like...when he was standing in front of Sienna, he had some hold on her mind. She acted like everything was just fine. The second he was out of sight though, she _told_ me she knew something was wrong. She was about to tell him to leave. To come back when the two of you were around. But the second he opened the door to that TARDIS thing, she just walked right in willingly and the next thing I know, the door slammed in my face and they were just gone." He put his hands over his face and made a sound of frustration. He shouldn't have let her go near that motherfucker.

Dayle put a hand on his arm. "Hey. Let's just calm down. This isn't your fault, you know. You couldn't have done anything differently. And there might be a perfectly logical explanation for all this."

Silas couldn't believe she was comforting him. "I could have done _something_. I feel like such an asshole. What if something happens to her?"

He saw the fear in Dayle's eyes and knew she was only trying to sound brave.

Jesse hugged Dayle against him. "I think you should try calling him again." He told her firmly. He took Gabe from her and she pulled out her phone.

Her hand was shaking as she dialed the number. She put the phone on speaker and the three of them stood waiting for it to ring through. "I've tried calling five times since you called me." she murmured to Silas. "It's like, it's not reaching him for some reason."

Silas listened as the phone made the normal trilling noise of an outgoing call, followed by a long silence, then an old fashioned dial tone. Then it just disconnected.

" _Fuck!_ " Dayle shouted, looking ready to throw the phone. She looked at Jesse helplessly. "What the hell are we going to do if we can't get a hold of him?" She sounded truly frightened now. It broke Silas's heart.

Suddenly her phone began to ring. She accepted the call without looking to see who it was. "Hello?" she greeted eagerly. Then her face fell. "Hey mom."

Silas sighed in disappointment. What the hell _were_ they going to do? There was no way he was just going to be able to wait around to hear from Sienna. He had to _do_ something.

Suddenly Dayle's tone broke into this thoughts. " _What_?" She looked up at Jesse and Silas. "Listen to this." She put the phone on speaker.

"Mom. Repeat what you just said about your dream. But tell me the details this time." Dayle held the phone out for everyone to hear.

The voice of a slightly older woman spoke from the other end of the line. "The dream I had. It was that same odd blonde man with the striped pants and long tan coat. In the other dreams it was like he was standing on the other side of some thick glass, knocking and shouting to be heard. I can only ever hear parts of what he's saying. I hear 'help' and "my name is the Doctor' and 'I can't get back home.'"

The woman paused to take a breath. "Well, this time, he was just standing there in a dark space, looking very angry. He was silent most of the time. Didn't speak at all. And then finally, just before I woke up, he said, very clearly, 'The Master has taken Sienna.' It was practically echoing in my mind when I woke up. There was no mistaking his words."

Silas inexplicably felt a chill overtake him at the cryptic words. Dayle and Jesse exchanged a confused look.

"Well, what the hell does that mean?" Jesse demanded.

"Yeah. Who's 'the master'?" Silas wanted to know.

"Mom. Was there anything else? Anything at all different about this new dream?" Dayle questioned.

There was a long pause on the line. Then Dayle's mother spoke again, sounding a little unsure "There was one thing." She paused again. "He had something in his hand this time. Only I couldn't get a good look at it. It was shiny. His hand was closed around it, clenched because he was so angry. I-I-I'd need to see it again. I just don't know for sure..."

"Okay...Okay..." Dayle said gently. "Thanks mom. Thanks for letting me know."

"Something's happened. To Sienna. She's in trouble isn't she?" Sienna's grandmother sounded haunted.

"Mom, we don't know yet. As soon as I know something, I promise to tell you. In the meantime, if you think of anything else...anything at all, please let me know, okay?" They hung up.

Dayle looked at Jesse and Silas. There were tears in her eyes now. It was like everyone in the room knew for certain then that Sienna was in grave danger.

Jesse swallowed. "Keep trying the Doctor." He instructed.

Dayle nodded and dialed again.


	8. Chapter 8

**_"There's no such thing as an ordinary human."_**

 ** _-Tenth Doctor_**

* * *

 _Constellation of Kasterberous, Universe A_

The Doctor seemed to be in his own world as he piloted the TARDIS toward some planet called Karn. Silas and Savannah sat together off to themselves talking. The Doctor had given them both a little lesson on parallel universes before falling into his moody silence. Savannah filled Silas in on everything her mother had told her and the details of the dreams. She even told him about the voices and the fact that she'd been experiencing the Sienna girl's memories when she'd passed out at the library.

He listened intently, fascinated. When she was finished, Silas exhaled heavily. "Well there are still some things that don't add up."

Savannah blinked. "Like what?"

"Like... why the hell did the Doctor wipe Sienna's memories in the first place?" He threw a curious glance over at the grumpy old dude standing over the console. The Doctor seemed oblivious to them.

Savannah nodded. "Yeah, I'd wondered that too. Mom says it's because of some promise this Doctor made to the other Doctor. The blonde guy who died."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "But why promise _that_? Seems a bit extreme."

"We're here." The Doctor announced just then and the sound of the TARDIS rematerializing seemed to agree with that statement.

Silas and Savannah both stood and looked at each other nervously. "Ready to meet some space bitches?" she asked him. He grinned and nodded.

The Doctor walked past them just then on his way to the door. He paused. "A bit of advice. Maybe _don't_ address the Reverend Mother of the Sisterhood of Karn in that manner when you meet her, hmm?"

"Life of the damn party." Savannah grumbled under her breath as they followed him out onto the rocky, red surface of the planet.

Savannah gasped at the scenery. It was both terrible and breathtaking. The terrain that surrounded them was all sharp edges, mountainous and rusty red. She looked at Silas who seemed to be in just as much awe.

The Doctor stopped short when he saw a woman draped in a red robe standing near the mouth of a cave not far from the TARDIS.

"Savannah, Lancelot- stay near the TARDIS please." He turned his back on them and approached the mysterious woman, clearly one of the Sisterhood they'd heard about.

Silas and Savannah stayed put while the Doctor had a word with the robed figure.

"He's never going to stop calling me Lancelot is he?" Silas sighed resignedly. Savannah giggled. She highly doubted it.

"Wonder what this is?" Silas said curiously and stepped away toward a strange tree he saw, the only apparent plant life in the vicinity.

Savannah glanced over impatiently and saw the Doctor was still deep in conversation. Before she even realized it was happening, four more robed figures appeared from out of nowhere and surrounded her. They placed themselves between her and Silas, her and the Doctor and her and the TARDIS.

"Uhhh. Ladies. H-h-how's it hangin there?" She froze, feeling her fight or flight instinct kick in.

One of the women who looked to be close to Savannah's age walked up close to her. Her face was painted with cryptic markings. She looked slightly unhinged. "Daughter of Karn." she greeted in a strange, flat tone. "Welcome home."

Savannah blinked. "Say what?"

It was then that Silas saw they were not alone and attempted to rejoin Savannah. One of the other weird robed ladies blocked him from doing so. She was only slightly older but looked tons crazier.

"Son of Earth." she said hatefully. "You are most not welcome." She produced an ornate blade and flashed it at him.

"Hey..." Savannah objected, alarmed.

The woman who had called her 'daughter of Karn' and one of the others suddenly gripped her by the wrists and tried dragging her away.

"What the hell? _Doctor_!" she shouted.

"Miss, I'd never hit a lady but I'm not above knocking you out of my way to get to my friend." Silas was looking at the knife wielding chick through narrowed eyes.

" _My Sisters_!" A stern voice booming with authority made them all jump to attention. The two women dropped Savannah's wrists. The other reluctantly put away her blade and Silas ran over to Savannah to make sure she was alright.

The Doctor had returned with the woman they'd first seen. The leader, Savannah guessed by the way the others seemed to kowtow to her. She was studying Savannah carefully. So intently, in fact, it became a bit disconcerting. Savannah reached over and clasped Silas's hand. He gave hers a reassuring squeeze.

"Savannah Moss, I'd like you to meet Ohila, Reverend Mother of the Sisterhood of Karn." The Doctor sounded casual, even friendly but was palpably wary. He moved to place himself between Savannah and the robed women, looking at them with something akin to disdain.

"Savannah." Ohila exclaimed, stepping closer. "Such a mystery you are to me. A human female with the blood of a High Priestess." The Reverend Mother looked delighted, and as seemed to be the trend here on Karn, slightly deranged.

Savannah felt her whole body grow cold. _What the fuck was this spooky bitch talkin about?_ She remained silent. Outspoken as she was, she'd rather piss glass than engage in conversation with any of these nutjobs.

"Well, I think I've gotten the information we need here." The Doctor declared quickly. He clearly regarded the Sisterhood with suspicion, maybe even a little fear.

"Doctor." Ohila interjected in a sing-song tone. "Don't forget our deal. Information for information." She narrowed her eyes at the Doctor, an unsettling smile on her lips.

"Of course." he proffered an insincere smile, grabbed Silas and Savannah and backed toward the TARDIS quickly.

When the door was open, he pushed them both inside and closed it once more. He let out a breath he seemed to have been holding and leaned against the closed door.

"Well that was interesting." He raised his eyebrows and headed over to the console. He pulled a lever to dematerialize, then began to search for something on his computer. He didn't speak for several minutes.

"Uh... Doctor?" Silas asked. He put his hands on his hips and glared at the Time Lord in disbelief.

"Seriously, Doctor. Are you going to explain what just happened there?" Savannah wondered. Her heart was finally starting to slow down but her stomach was in knots. Their encounter with the eerie cult had deeply troubled her.

The Doctor didn't look up from what he was doing. "Ohila there was filling me in on a bit of your family history Savannah." He finally looked up and eyed her meaningfully. "I'll give you the details later. Reader's Digest version: your great grandmother was a High Priestess from Karn."

Savannah had to grab a railing to stay upright. "Say _what_!?"

"Yes, well. It would seem we've solved the mystery as to why telepathy runs through your bloodline. You know, your grandmother in the other universe is a clairvoyant, and Sienna is a healer." The Doctor continued his search on the computer.

"So what exactly is _my_ special gift? Fucked up dreams and hearing voices? Seem a little unbalanced to anybody else?" She pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger, feeling like she might throw up.

"Well it stands to reason actually." The Doctor explained, apparently finished with the computer. "The powers of the Pythia always skipped a generation. The Dayle from the other universe has no psychic abilities either."

Just then, the sound of a vibrating cell phone began emanating from the Doctor's jacket. He reached in his pocket and studied the device. His eyes grew wide. "Now that's just uncanny." He looked up at Savannah, raised his impressive eyebrows. "Speak of the devil."

He accepted the call and held the phone to his ear. "Well, Dayle B. It is good to hear from you. Yes, this is the Doctor... Yes, I _have_ regenerated..." His brow furrowed. "Of course I spoke with Sienna and told her I'd be coming back. Had to make a stop to get Savannah first though..." His voice suddenly became panicked. "What do you mean, someone else got to her first?" He leaned against the console and put his hand to his forehead, took a deep breath. "Okay... slow down and tell me exactly what happened..."

Savannah and Silas shared a look. Whatever was going on in the other universe- it didn't sound good.

* * *

 _Thursday Afternoon, Universe B_

They stayed put in the apartment for the rest of the day. They all three called off work and Jesse ran Gabe over to his mother's house to stay the night. They sat around the dining room table nervously, trying to carry on some kind of conversation. Nobody was hungry when lunchtime came and went. Silas was drinking some hot tea. Dayle apologized profusely before pouring herself a glass of wine.

He would be lying if he said he didn't want a drink himself but he couldn't blame Dayle for needing to self medicate when her daughter was god knows fucking where.

The only good thing was they'd finally gotten through to the Doctor. They'd learned he had in fact spoken with Sienna on the phone the evening before and was planning on coming here anyway. But he was most definitely _not_ the guy who took her away that morning. It was both terrible and helpful to know the truth. They were expecting him to arrive at any moment.

"So this chick Savannah who's having dreams that are apparently Sienna's memories... how is she connected with Sienna?" Silas wondered.

Dayle raised an eyebrow and a smile even played at the corners of her mouth. "How is Savannah connected to Sienna? Well... just wait til she gets here and see for yourself." Jesse chuckled at that.

 _Parallel universe humor,_ Silas thought dryly.

Suddenly Silas felt the familiar whoosh of air being displaced in the apartment and the same discordant sound he'd heard earlier at Sienna's place filled the room.

" _Doctor."_ Dayle and Jesse said in unison. The three of them stood, waiting for his arrival.

The big blue box materialized in the corner near the entrance to the apartment. The door squeaked open and a tall thin man who appeared to be about sixty stepped out. He was dressed in an old fashioned black suit and he had kind of angry looking eyebrows.

He stopped short when he spotted Silas. "Ohhh. Isn't _this_ wonderful? Another one of _you._ " He sounded Scottish and very exasperated.

Silas stared at the man with narrowed eyes. " _Excuse_ me?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

But, not quite as confused as he felt when he saw a guy who looked just like himself stroll casually out of the TARDIS, holding the hand of a very familiar girl.

He gasped. "Sienna?" He took a step toward her.

"That's Savannah, Si." Dayle said softly from behind him. She sounded a bit wary, clearly taken aback by the appearance of their guests.

He pointed at the kid who was his twin. "And that's... that's...?"

"Parallel universe you apparently." Jesse chimed in, also sounding uncharacteristically soft spoken and uncertain.

Silas sat back down in his chair, completely speechless.

Dayle walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's freaky at first, I know. I spent quite a bit of time with another Dayle. Strange how fast you get used to it though." She patted his shoulder and finally started to approach the Doctor.

"So... you're the Doctor then?" Dayle's brow was furrowed. She walked all around the newcomer looking him up and down.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes. I know. Older. Less chin. More eyebrows."

"Scottish accent?" Dayle guessed, her nose wrinkled.

He looked down his nose at her for a moment, then a smile finally came to his face. "How have you been?" He walked right up and hugged her. Dayle seemed to hesitate for only a moment. Then she hugged him right back, grinning broadly.

"Back on my side of the street I see." she murmured, as they broke the embrace

"So it would seem." he agreed. He walked up to Jesse and offered his hand.

"Doctor. It's good to see you." Jesse told him sincerely.

Silas just sat watching quietly, still in shock. Savannah and the other him hovered nervously near the TARDIS.

The Doctor took a deep breath, then turned to face the room. "Right. So. Jesse, Dayle..." his eyebrows lowered and he pointed at Silas. "kid whose name I can't remember."

"It's _Silas_!" Savannah and parallel universe him shouted in unison.

"Silas, of course." The Doctor shrugged. "Then... Jesse, Dayle and Silas...Meet Savannah Moss and Lancelot."

The Silas who the Doctor referred to as Lancelot made a sound of frustration while Savannah just giggled. They both looked at everyone in the room and greeted them.

"Hey."

"How are you?"

Silas just stayed in his seat, still not feeling quite with it enough to stand. He shook his head, still trying to wrap his mind around it. There was totally another him and another Sienna. It was insane.

"Now," the Doctor continued. "You think the Master took Sienna?" he asked, real anger showing on his face at the thought.

Dayle sighed. "Yes. At least that's what my mother got from a dream." She narrowed her eyes. "Who exactly is the Master?"

The Doctor looked grim. "The Master is a particularly nasty Time Lord with even nastier intentions. We go way back." He sighed. "Who saw him come and take her?" He demanded.

Silas slowly raised his hand. "I was with her when he took her."

The Doctor nodded. "Come here then. I need to link with your mind to see what you saw."

Silas raised his eyebrows. "Do _what_?"

Savannah took a few steps toward where he sat. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt." she assured him. "He looked into my mind too."

Silas looked at her and she squinted back at him, clearly marveling at the strangeness of the situation. They grinned at each other and he finally stood. "Alright. If you say so."

He headed over to the Doctor, still avoiding eye contact with the Lancelot him. It was still too freaky to interact with himself like that.

The Doctor placed his fingertips against Silas's temples. "Just close your eyes and relax." he instructed.

Silas complied and suddenly felt an eerie tickle at the back of his brain. He could feel that the Doctor was in his mind somehow. Totally messed up.

When The Doctor was done, he dropped his hands and paced the room for a moment. He stopped and faced them all again. "It was definitely the Master. And somehow...I'd swear he had the Fifth Doctor from this universe's TARDIS." He looked perplexed.

"Wait a minute." Savannah interjected, confused. "I thought my mom said that his ship exploded when he died."

"About that..." Dayle announced.

They all looked her way. "There is a possibility he's not dead." Dayle informed them. She looked at the Doctor who was staring at her looking staggered. She raised her eyebrows at him. "You _are_ talking about the blonde dude with striped pants?" The Doctor nodded. She continued. "Well, it seems he might be alive after all. My mother's dream. It was him."

The Doctor put his face into his hands. "Impossible."

"So what does this mean?" Silas finally piped up.

The Doctor turned back toward him. "I have no idea. There are too many variables. The dreams and the Reverend Mother and The Master. And now _the other Doctor_?"

He shook his head and turned his attention back to Dayle. "I suppose I have some somewhat surprising news for you as well." He glanced back at Savannah who seemed to shudder a little. Dayle was looking at him expectantly, anxiously.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "It's about your bloodline. I think it's high time we go have a little chat with your mother."


	9. Chapter 9

**_"The distinction between the past, present and future_**

 ** _is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."_**

 ** _-Albert Einstein_**

* * *

 _Karn, Universe B, Sixty Years Earlier_

 _The sound of chanting along with the crackling of fire filled the gloomy cave that the Sisterhood of Karn used as a shrine._

" _Sacred fire, sacred flame. Sacred fire, sacred flame. Sacred fire..."_

 _Theia watched the ceremony from her position, hidden in the shadows in a deep recess of the rock wall. She was both mesmerized and afraid. Her own mother sat in the center of the chanting women on a circular dais, gazing into the large flat stone of a ring she wore. She was Maren, High Priestess of the Sisterhood of Karn._

" _Sacred fire, sacred flame. Sacred fire, sacred flame..."_

 _The red robed women around the dais were on their knees, chanting in hissing, whispering voices as they performed the elaborate hand movements of the ritual._

" _Sisters..." Maren said in an eerie, flat tone. "I can see something now but the visual is unclear. You must concentrate." She sat forward, unable to hide her impatience._

 _The chanting increased in intensity as the Sisterhood concentrated harder, trying to increase their collective telepathy to enhance the divination of the High Priestess._

 _Theia herself concentrated, drawing on the power of the nearby Sacred Flame to mask her presence to the rest of the Sisterhood. She was an off generation Sister and did not have the natural power of the Pythia as her mother did. Only proximity to the Sacred Flame gave her telepathic abilities. Sisters with the power of Pythia had their powers always, no matter their location on Karn... even off planet._

" _Yesss." Maren suddenly hissed. "I can see..." She gasped. "It is true. The daughter of Karn." Her eyes narrowed. "She is said to be of the woods. From the woods."_

 _Theia's hearts hammered in her chest and she only hoped that the sound of the chanting could conceal what her augmented telepathy could not._

 _Her mother stood suddenly, her ancient eyes wide, incredulous. "It is as it was foretold by the elder Keres. Theia is meant to produce an abomination." Maren closed her shaking hand that held the ring. The arm fell limply to her side. She looked almost scared. It was the first time Theia had ever seen her mother scared. Arrogant, usually. Cruel, always. Never scared._

 _The chanting stopped and the red robed women filed out of the cave. Maren's second in command, Ohica stood last and approached the dais, looking concerned._

" _Maren...?" she inquired. Ohica's face was painted with red and gold markings. They were symbolic of her standing as the next in line as High Priestess. The sacred position was Theia's birthright, but Maren had always despised her daughter, the last child of Gallifrey born before Pythia's curse of sterility all those centuries ago._

 _The other daughters on Karn, including Ohica's own daughter Ohila, were born of the loom as Gallifreyans now were. Theia had an actual father, a Time Lord from Rassilon's faction. Theia would always be a reminder to Maren that she had once gone against the Pythia. In a way, Theia herself was an abomination._

" _Ohica. Find Theia and bring her forth to the shrine. She will be made a sacrifice. This prophecy shall not be fulfilled." Maren's face was now more angry than scared. She was determined and had made the decision without an ounce of sorrow or hesitation. Ohica nodded, her eyes wide as she helped Maren down from the dais._

 _Theia's eyes closed and tears fell to her face. Her dreams had been right all along. She had known this day was coming and hadn't wanted to believe. Despite that her mother had never shown her love or affection or even common courtesy, Theia lived to please her. Even knowing one day her mother would order her immolation._

" _Reverend Mother," Ohica began, sounding nervous. "What did you see? What was Theia foretold to do?" Ohica had always been kind to Theia. Her daughter Ohila and Theia were close friends. Both were off generation and did not have the natural power of Pythia. Ohica had never looked down upon them for that though Maren often treated Theia like it was a birth defect._

 _Maren looked at Ohica, her eyes hard. "That fool, the one, the girl from the woods, is foretold to fall in love with a Son of Earth, have his children. And one day, one day..." Maren's lips were set in a grim line, as if she could barely speak the blasphemy._

" _One day...?" Ohica prompted, her wild eyes wide once more._

" _Theia's great grandchild, a daughter of Karn, will fall in love with a Time Lord." This Maren practically growled. Then she turned and left the shrine, headed off to purify herself for the sacrifice ritual._

 _Theia's eyes narrowed. She had not expected such a divination. How could this be?_

" _Theia." Ohica suddenly whispered. "Sister. I know you are here with me."_

 _Theia's eyes sprang open. Her concentration had been broken and she'd stopped masking her presence. Ohica had found her._

" _Theia, come out now child." Ohica insisted."I will not let you come to harm."_

 _Theia's hearts were pounding away and she felt as if she'd been stabbed in the stomach. But she trusted Ohica. She stepped out from her hiding place._

 _Ohica's face was expressionless as she looked at her daughter's best friend._

" _Mother will kill me." was all Theia could think to say._

" _Theia. You must go. You must leave this place immediately, and never come back." Ohica's eyes were compassionate but her face was resolute._

 _Theia knew she was right. But she had nowhere to run here on Karn. She would be found._

 _Ohica nodded, reading her mind. "You must go beyond the five planets. You must disappear."_

 _Fresh tears filled Theia's eyes. Thousands of years she had lived and never left Karn. She couldn't even remember living on Gallifrey. She had been too young when the Pythia had been overthrown by Rassilon and cast into the abyss._

 _Pythia's followers had been sent to Karn to continue their matriarchal society. They had become the keepers of the Sacred Flame and had been kept immortal through the Elixir of Life rather than through the regeneration process that Rassilon had gifted to the Time Lords of Gallifrey. Theia had begun taking the Elixir around her 250_ _th_ _year and retained her youthful appearance. Her mother and a few of the elders were the only of the Sisterhood that looked truly old. Even Ohica was still young and beautiful._

" _I-I-I don't know where to go. And I don't know how to get there." Theia cried._

 _Ohica took Theia by the arm. "Come." Ohica grabbed a torch that had been lit by the Sacred Flame and led Theia down a dark tunnel in the back of the cave. These caves contained many corridors and tunnels Theia had never seen. It held many secrets known only to few. Ohica clearly was one of the Sisterhood in the know._

 _They seemed to walk forever, deeper into the cave, the ground beneath them angling downward, as if they were descending further and further underground._

 _They reached a chamber that was cold and even damper than the rest of the cave. Ohica held the torch in front of them as they reached the center of the large chamber._

 _Theia gasped. It was some sort of cylindrical machine. Silver metal, smooth and seamless. Her eyes grew wide._

" _Is that... is that a TARDIS?" she looked at Ohica in disbelief before walking all around the strange apparatus._

" _No." Ohica replied softly as she placed her torch into a mount in the cave wall. "But it is Time Lord science. It is a Transmat portal, technology now thought crude and inefficient on Gallifrey. They were used before TARDIS technology was perfected."_

 _Ohica gazed at the machine, then back at Theia. "It can take you away from here. It contains telepathic circuitry, much like a TARDIS. It will take you where you are meant to be." Ohica pressed a button on a hidden panel on the rock wall and the cylinder spread open right down the center, like a book opening. A blue glow filled the dark chamber. On the floor of the cave beneath the opened machine was a circle with the outline of feet engraved in the center._

 _Theia stared at the Transmat machine in silence, her lips pressed together. Finally she stepped forward, placed her feet on the marks in the circle, her back now to Ohica. "Now what do I do?" she asked the silver shell of the machine nervously_

" _Stand perfectly still and open your mind." Ohica told her softly._

" _What will happen to you? Will mother know what you've done?" Theia implored the only woman alive who had ever protected her._

" _That matters not." Ohica said firmly. "You shall go and find peace, peace you have never known here."_

 _And then Ohica pressed another button on the panel and the machine closed around Theia. She stood inside the glowing blue cylinder and tried to open her mind. There was a vibration resonating through her whole being and her mind suddenly felt scrambled. She didn't know which way was up, who she even was, what she was doing here in this strange glowing capsule._

 _The machine emitted an almost melodic low beeping sound and then a loud whoosh. The last thing Theia heard before she lost consciousness was a distant voice._

" _May the ancient powers of the Pythia guide you on your way."_

* * *

 _Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS, Present Day_

Sienna woke up and took in a giant breath. She had actually stopped breathing somehow in her sleep and she leaned forward panting, her heart racing. She found she was in an ornate library seated in a green velvet Victorian style chair.

When she got her breath back, she squinted and looked around, the remnants of the strange dream she'd had still gnawing at the edges of her mind. A cave and women in red robes chanting. A young woman sentenced to death escaping in some teleportation thingee. She shook her head to clear it. _What the fuck was that about?_

And for that matter... where was she? She stood and took in her surroundings, the dimly lit library. The last thing she remembered was entering the strange Doctor's TARDIS, sitting in the bright white control room while they left her apartment behind.

The Doctor. Sienna's eyes narrowed. Something... something wasn't right. Before she'd boarded the TARDIS, she and Silas had talked about it. She'd had a bad feeling. But the second he was in her presence again... it was like she just had to trust him. Like she had no control over her will. Now, alone, she felt more like herself. She shivered, wondering where he was now.

Sienna felt around in her pockets for her phone and realized she'd left it sitting in her living room. _Fuck me running._ She sighed and edged wearily toward the door that exited to a stark white corridor. She couldn't just hide in this library. She needed to figure out where she was and what was happening.

She stepped into the corridor and both heard and felt a humming that seemed to be coming from all around her. The sound and the feeling were oddly soothing to her. It was like getting lost in a crowd as a small child and an adult you trust suddenly appears and takes you by the hand. She sighed. She now knew for sure she was still on board the TARDIS. Whatever happened, she knew she'd be okay. Somehow.

She came to an ordinary looking white door and felt a fierce sensation of deja vu. Her hand was shaking as she reached for the handle.

The door opened to reveal a startlingly sizable space. It was a totally 1980's looking skating rink. She squinted, confused. Why was she so sure she'd been here before? She stepped inside and when she did, the skate floor lights came to life as did the sound system. The door closed automatically behind her.

She walked toward the skate floor, feeling like a ghost haunting a place she couldn't remember ever inhabiting. She knew for a fact she hadn't seen this when she'd been in the Doctor's TARDIS back in October. She hadn't even gone beyond the console room... a console room much different than the one she'd stepped into hours before, she suddenly realized.

Sienna's eyes narrowed as she stepped out onto the skate floor as if in a trance. The dancing lights suddenly grew dimmer, blues and purples. The song changed.

A familiar beat, a favorite old tune.

 _Swaying room as the music starts_

 _strangers making the most of the dark..._

Sienna stumbled backwards as she was overtaken by chills, the like of which she had never experienced. It was like being plunged into icy water all of a sudden. She thought her heart would stop. This song? Why this song?

She leaned against the old fashioned low carpeted wall that framed the perimeter of the floor, her face down on her folded arms. She was perplexed at her reaction. What did this song mean to her?

 _What I'm dyin to say is that I'm crazy for you_

 _touch me once and you'll know it's true_

Sienna knew there was a saying... the feeling that someone had walked over your grave. This was much, much worse. It was like someone had desecrated a considerably larger piece of holy ground; maybe set fire to a family's crypt, hell, dropped a bomb in a graveyard. She felt dizzy and when she stood up straight once more, she found she was crying quite hard.

And then she understood. Her body, her heart was experiencing a memory that her mind had forgotten. She felt a rush of adrenaline and her eyes swept around the strange, retro room. Hadn't Dayle said that a TARDIS was alive? Was this TARDIS trying to tell her something?

She walked to a nearby stool and closed her eyes. Telepathic circuits. That's what Dayle had said. A TARDIS was telepathic.

She sat still and tried to reach out with her mind, to open hers in return. She'd never tried anything like this and was starting to feel a bit silly.

She nearly fell out of her chair when she heard a bizarre white noise suddenly blot out the sound of music. She realized that it must be coming from inside her head.

It was the first time Sienna could say she had something akin to an out of body experience. Suddenly her vantage point was as if she were standing back at the edge of the skate floor and looking at the very stool in which she currently sat. Only it was no longer her that was sitting there.

It was a blonde man she couldn't remember ever seeing but she knew instantly it was the man that Lenore had told her about from her dream. The striped pants and athletic sweater. The one who called himself the Doctor. He was unlacing a pair of roller skates. Sienna found she could not speak but somehow she heard her own voice, sounding annoyed, float out of the ether.

" _What's so interesting?"_

" _You."_ The blonde man replied, sounding snarky and condescending. He continued to remove the skates. " _You only want to pursue me as long as I try to stop you. You are only interested in trying to tempt me so long as you are sure I can't be tempted."_

Sienna came out of it quickly, sat blinking, on the stool once more. She looked all around and found everything as it had been. The strange skating rink with the lights flashing like it was a Friday night in 1985. She was once more alone with the Madonna song.

 _I never wanted anyone like this_

 _it's all brand new, you'll feel it in my kiss_

 _I'm crazy for you._

That guy. This place. Sienna fiddled with her lower lip. The conversation had definitely taken place, she had no doubt. She hadn't been remembering it though. It was like... the TARDIS had shown her its own memory.

The little interaction had her puzzled. So what the hell? Had she been trying to seduce that blonde asshole with an apparent superiority complex?

Sienna sighed and stood. She needed to continue her exploration. Perhaps as she looked around, she'd find out more about what had happened. What she'd forgotten.

As she exited the haunted skating rink, the lights and music shut off on their own accord. She entered the silent, austere corridor once more, looked around wearily. She only hoped she wouldn't run into the strange man who'd lured her here.

She was certain he was not the Doctor. But she feared that he had the ability to make her think otherwise. To make her think anything, really. Sienna set her jaw and headed slowly on down the hallway.


	10. Chapter 10

**_"We are like islands in the sea,_**

 ** _separate on the surface_**

 ** _but connected in the deep."_**

 ** _-William James_**

* * *

 _Burgess County, OH, October 24, 1957_

 _Clyde Shipley was on his way home from working the 4 to midnight shift at the Cloburn Vacuum plant in Kirkmore. He was tired and having a hell of a time staying awake._

 _He'd stayed up most of the night before with his brother Vernon and best buddy Jimmy Lewis. There had been beer and poker and lots of laughs. He and Vernon had given Jimmy shit over his newest girlfriend. That Evelyn had him whipped they said. She had him dressing different and shaving more often._

 _The ribbing was all in good fun. Truth be told, Vernon and Clyde should be so lucky to find a girl like Evelyn. She was a class act. Definite wife material._

 _Vernon, the oldest of the two brothers, was the perpetual bachelor type. He was more interested in seeing how many girls he could get to screw him. He was 34 and had racked up quite an impressive body count. At 28, Clyde had only had one serious girlfriend, Helen Beatty. That ended four years ago when she'd wound up pregnant by some farm kid named Joe. They were married now and lived over in Kirkmore._

 _Clyde remained single all these years later. He wasn't a bad looking guy, most would say he was the more handsome of the two brothers. He was tall with blonde hair and blue gray eyes. He just hadn't been eager to put himself on the line since then and he definitely wasn't a love em and leave em fella like Vern._

 _Clyde yawned as he turned off the highway onto County Road 109. He lived in the old family home just outside the city limits of Sugar Creek, on the outskirts of Ritenour Woods. The house was somewhat dilapidated, the porch needing major repairs. He'd had grand plans for it when it had been left to him by his alcoholic father years back. He hoped to marry Helen and have children and raise them there in the same house where he and Vernon had grown up. He knew he'd let a lot of shit go when he'd split with Helen._

 _He started to nod off just as he reached the tree line of the woods. He shook his head to snap himself out of it and cranked the window down on his shabby green pickup truck. The crisp Autumn air hit his face and revived him somewhat. He glanced at the woods on either side of the road, noting the leaves had fallen early this year. Aside from the big pine trees, most of the branches were bear, giving the woods a stark, almost sinister look._

 _On a night like tonight, one could almost imagine these woods really were haunted as the local legends claimed. He shivered inexplicably. Strange. Clyde wasn't the superstitious type._

 _As he rounded a bend where the woods really closed in tightly on the road, he felt his eyelids growing heavy once more. Why hadn't he ever fixed this damn radio?_

 _The thought had no sooner come to mind when he saw a strange flash in the woods up ahead and off to his right. It was like white flames with a strange blue glow around the edges. There and gone. He saw movement then, perhaps an animal bursting out of the woods, crossing the clearing just ahead of him. Clyde's eyes narrowed and he slowed the beat up Chevy that hadn't been new since 1942. What the hell...?_

 _As he neared the spot where he'd seen the odd disturbance, his eyes flew open wide. The animal that he thought he'd seen cross the clearing had fallen and was laying there, right in the middle of the road. Only, upon closer examination, Clyde didn't think it was just some animal..._

 _Clyde slammed on his brakes, shut the truck down and jumped out. He ran toward the prone figure. He was right. It was a girl. A young woman...perhaps 20 years old. She was dressed in strange red clothing. Like a robe with a hood._

 _He knelt beside the girl, who looked like she might be dead. He turned her over onto her back and held a shaky hand under her nose. He could feel her breathing and blew out a sigh of relief. He squinted at the young lady. She didn't appear to have any injuries, at least none he could see. He smoothed her long, dark hair back from her face. He felt his heart skip a beat at how beautiful she was._

 _Clyde stood up and looked around. Where the hell had she come from? He knew he couldn't leave her here like this. The nearest hospital was an hour away. He might be able to raise Dr. Bantree if he went and knocked at his door. The Doc only lived about a mile from his own house. Clyde stood over the girl, suddenly feeling wide awake, trying to decide what to do. First things first. He'd need to get her out of the road._

 _He bent to pick her up and when he did, her eyes suddenly flew open. They were big and brown and looked frightened. She sat up quickly and groaned, put a hand to her head as if the sudden movement had caused her great pain._

" _Hey." Clyde said gently. "Are you alright there, Miss?"_

 _The girl gasped as if spotting him for the first time. She was definitely afraid now. She crawled backwards away from him, out of the road. She looked like she thought he might attack her. He frowned and stood back up straight. Took a few steps back._

" _No need to be frightened." He tried his best to reassure her. "I won't harm you."_

 _Finally she spoke. Only it was in some bizarre language Clyde had never, ever heard before. Her tone was unmistakable though. She sounded like she was telling him to fuck off. Clyde chuckled despite himself. This strange, frightened girl, alone on a country road in the middle of the woods. She was giving him the business just the same. He peered down at her, curious._

 _He knelt once more so she didn't feel like he was looming over her. "It's okay." He whispered. "My name is Clyde. Clyde Shipley."_

 _He made eye contact and saw that the girl's brown eyes were wise, almost ancient looking. He was taken aback. She looked right back at him, right into his blue gray eyes. She still looked unsure, but not as afraid as she'd been._

 _He tried again, pointing to himself. "Clyde." he repeated, then looked at her expectantly._

 _Her eyes narrowed, her expression became almost imperious. She tapped her own chest and proclaimed. "Theia."_

 _He smiled. It was an unusual but beautiful name."Theia. Why don't we go somewhere and get you warmed up." He gestured at the trees all around them. "Away from these creepy woods."_

 _Theia's eyes grew big. "Woods?" she repeated, then shivered._

 _Clyde stood and held out a hand to help her up. She hesitated for a moment, then seemed to decide he really was only there to help her. She took his hand and allowed herself to be hauled to her feet. She stood on her own just fine so she couldn't be too injured. He led her to the truck and opened the door for her._

 _She looked like she didn't quite know what was expected of her. She studied the old Chevy like she'd never seen an automobile before. Quite frankly, she had looked at him like she'd never seen a man before. He shook his head before helping her into the cab of the pickup. He shut the passenger door, then walked around and started it up._

 _He glanced over at her before he pulled back onto the road. She was leaned forward in her seat, looking out of the windshield, up at the stars._

* * *

 _Sugar Creek, OH, Universe B, Present Day_

Savannah sat in Lenore Byers' living room on the sofa between Dayle B and the Doctor. Jesse and Silas Squared were waiting in the TARDIS which was parked in the backyard. Savannah felt like she was having another one of her crazy, lucid dreams.

Her grandmother. Alive. She was mesmerized by her beautiful blue-gray eyes. Dayle, Savannah's mom, was the spitting image, she realized, smiling sadly as Lenore told them the story her father had told her when she was a child. The story of how he'd met her mother. Theia. Savannah's (and Sienna's) great grandmother.

Savannah had grown up knowing the basics about her extended family. She knew that her great grandparents, Clyde and Theia Shipley had Lenore and Dayle's Aunt Lucy. Theia had passed away before Lenore turned seven years old.

Lenore had gone on to marry Bradley Moss and had Savannah's mother, Dayle and her Auntie Lynette. Lenore had taken her own life when Dayle (A) was all of three years old... or at least she had in _her_ universe.

Savannah knew that her mother had come up from a dysfunctional family with a sad history. But she had a feeling even her mother had never heard this story. Savannah probably would have never heard this story had it not been for a parallel universe version of her grandmother, alive and well. Fuckin trippy.

Clearly Dayle B had never heard the story either. It seemed Lenore had never been fond of talking about her mother. It was a wound that had never healed for her. But she opened up now.

Dayle cleared her throat when Lenore had finished the tale of the "girl from the woods", as Clyde had liked to call her. (The nickname had caused the Doctor to raise his considerable eyebrows in surprise, like maybe he'd heard it before.)

"So did he have any theories? About the weird glow he saw in the trees?" Dayle wondered, fascinated.

Lenore sighed, clearly still mystified by the story herself. "When dad used to talk about the flash of light in the woods, my sister Lucy and I never really believed it. We figured he'd added the embellishment to make the story more interesting to us."

The Doctor was looking at Dayle, curious. "And what road do you suppose this took place on?" He gave her a meaningful look. She gasped and then turned back toward her mother. Leaned forward enthusiastically.

"You said county road 109... where exactly was this on 109? Like, in relation to my apartment?" It seemed to Savannah that Dayle already knew the answer but couldn't quite believe it.

Lenore thought for a moment. "Oh, you know that old stretch of road that's turned to dirt out toward where Papa's house used to be. It's a mess. It isn't used much. I suppose from your place, it would be a straight shot through those woods. Through what they used to call Ritenour Woods. It was in a bend of the road. It formed a clearing, cutting the woods in half there." Clearly she wondered why they wanted to know but decided not to ask.

Savannah saw the Doctor and Dayle B exchange a look of wonder. There must be something significant to them about that place, Savannah decided.

She felt a strange tickle in the back of he mind just then and heard a now familiar crackling sound. Just like in the library hallway before she'd passed out.

 _Pleased to meet you Sienna Woods. Cheer up, won't you? The night has ended. It's a brand new day._

Savannah shivered and shook her head to clear it. Freaky bullshit.

She noticed the Doctor was eyeing her curiously. He mouthed "Are you okay?" Savannah pressed her lips together and nodded.

"So... did Papa ever find out where Theia came from?" Dayle asked after a moment.

Lenore shook her head. "He told me he just assumed she had some sort of amnesia of the time before they'd met. He said that she must have already known English because within just a few days she was speaking fluently. She adapted easily to life here. She never seemed to want to talk about or even wonder about where she came from."

"And she didn't have any problems? Anything strange that might relate to any of this?" The Doctor pressed.

Lenore smiled, a sad little smile. "Dad said they were very happy. They were happy together until she died in 1964. It happened so quickly." Lenore shrugged. "We were rural and healthcare wasn't what it is now. The doctor said her heart just quit. Dad always said she seemed to age rapidly in the last few months of her life. But I don't remember that. I remember her being young and very beautiful."

Lenore smiled directly at Savannah now. "You look just like her, you know? You and Sienna both. The spitting image. She used to make me and Lucy laugh so hard. She was so clever. And such a loving mom." Her eyes teared up and Dayle B moved quickly to sit beside her.

Dayle gave her mom a squeeze. "Must be where you got it then." she told Lenore softly. Lenore chuckled and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

Savannah was touched by the moment they shared but couldn't help but feel how badly her own mom had been ripped off. She blew out a sigh. She needed to get the hell away.

She stood. "I need some air." she told them shortly. The Doctor moved to join her and she held a hand up to stop him. "Alone." She clarified. He shrugged and settled back in, looking terribly uncomfortable in this domestic situation. She realized that he hadn't so much wanted to keep her company as to escape himself. Savannah would laugh if she didn't already feel like crying.

She trudged out the back door toward the TARDIS. It was sprinkling lightly, the night sky obscured by clouds. She figured she'd check in with the others. When she walked in she found Silas... er Silas _A_ she supposed, alone in the control room, lounging in a chair half asleep. She could only tell them apart by his clothes and the fact he wasn't wearing the silly tan stocking cap. She realized she was already starting to think of him as Lancelot. She just managed to keep from laughing out loud. Her exhaustion had her feeling a bit loopy.

"Hey." she greeted. "You look as tired as I feel."

"Sup?" he replied without much enthusiasm. Yeah, he was wiped out.

She joined him in a chair nearby and fidgeted, struggling to wrap her mind around this crazy night. It was damn near midnight. They'd left their universe behind over five hours ago. She thought of her mom. Even knowing they were dealing with time travel and she could be returned to the very time she'd left, she still felt the time passing without her and she felt worried about her.

Savannah realized that no matter how long her mom kept things together, no matter how many years of sobriety she had under her belt, Savannah would always feel responsible, like she needed to take care of her. And that would never change. Her heart hurt for the fact that Dayle would never know her mom Lenore.

She knew she'd gotten the chance to meet the Lenore of this universe when she'd been here before. It bothered Savannah that her mom hadn't felt she could share that with her at the time. She sighed and put her face in her hands. Seriously. Too damn much.

She heard soft snoring and realized Silas had fallen asleep in the chair. That was what broke her. She cracked up laughing. With all the craziness, the stress and the emotions running high, it was just the release she needed. She was still laughing when Jesse and the other Silas returned to the control room from the corridor.

They peered at her curiously, the other Silas had an eyebrow raised like he had a smartass remark for her but didn't feel he knew her well enough to share it.

"You alright?" Jesse wondered, a half smile on his kind face. Savannah had realized pretty quickly he was the man in her dream from the night before. The one who'd been injured. The one she'd healed. The one Sienna had healed...

Savannah blew out a breath. "Other than the whole parallel universe thing and time traveling alien you mean? I'm peachy man. Aces." She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. She needed sleep. She figured nothing in her dreams could be any more surreal than her current waking situation.

Jesse chuckled. "Fair enough. I think I'm gonna go check on Dayle. Be back." He exited.

"Jesse was showing me around a bit." Silas B finally spoke up. Savannah opened her eyes and looked at him. "There's a bedroom back there. Your mom's we think. You _could_ go lay down." He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets nervously. It was clear he didn't know quite how to interact with her. It was just as clear he had it bad for her counterpart Sienna. She wondered if the feeling was mutual.

Savannah studied him and shook her head imperceptibly. Quite frankly, Sienna would be crazy not to feel the same. Intelligent, well mannered and funny. Not to even mention the level of sexy. Two of them in the same room was almost too much sexy to handle.

She smiled and got back to her feet. "Yeah. May as well go take a little nap. I think I've reached my quota on strange for the day. She yawned and headed toward the corridor. Then stopped and looked back. "Uhh...?" she looked back at him and gestured helplessly.

He chuckled and headed over to show her the way.


	11. Chapter 11

**_"Real hauntings have nothing to do with ghosts;_**

 ** _they have to do with the menace of memory."_**

 ** _-Anne Rice_**

* * *

 _Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS, Present Day_

The next door that Sienna reached opened to a laboratory. Deja vu all over again. She entered the dark room and the lights came on by themselves, the door closed all on its own. She jumped a little when she heard it shut behind her.

She wondered how much time she had left to explore before the Doctor impostor tracked her down. She wondered mostly what the hell he wanted with her. Just as sure as she knew that she'd been on board this TARDIS before, Sienna was sure that the creepy guy must have taken it from someone else. That it didn't belong to him at all.

She walked all around the lab, peering at the small bank of computers, examining a centrifuge and a Bunsen burner. Nothing seemed especially familiar or significant until she noticed that some scientific paraphernalia remained on the center counter from some experiment. Like someone had been working on something and just walked away, leaving things as they were. A small microscope and a test tube rack with two vials containing samples of some cloudy liquid. She narrowed her eyes at the items. Dust had settled there so clearly the things had been sitting around like this for some time.

She approached the lab table and gingerly touched the test tube rack. She closed her eyes and tried once more to connect with the telepathy of the TARDIS. It didn't take near as long this time. It was like whichever neural pathways that were involved in the communication had been altered and adapted quickly.

The white noise came again. The change in vantage point. Seeing through the eyes of the TARDIS. This time she even saw herself. She was standing on the other side of the counter. The blonde guy stood across from her. His body language showed he was troubled. They both looked slightly pixelated. Imperfect recreations of the real thing.

" _You didn't do anything wrong you know. Because I know that's what you think."_ The apparition version of herself told him. Her voice sounded echoey. Slightly mechanical. The playback of a machine's recording.

The blonde guy leaned against a cabinet, his expression a bit angry now. " _What we did this morning. What I almost did this morning, was disgraceful. That is not who I am. I operate on logic. As a Time Lord, I need to be in control at all times, not to take all leave of my senses just because some attractive young woman rubs up against me. That's irrational. I need order in my life. Not this...this chaos."_

Sienna felt a knot in her stomach just watching the interaction. Holy shit. Ouch.

The blonde guy lifted a box from the counter and sighed heavily. The TARDIS memory version of her didn't skip a beat. She looked at him calmly and smiled.

" _Yeah, you're probably right. Anything you need me to do before we head to the woods?"_

Double ouch. It couldn't be more obvious that her casual attitude affected the guy. He looked like he'd been slapped and had a hell of a time recovering. He had to set the box back down. Not a poker player for sure.

Sienna came out of the telepathic connection and stumbled slightly. It was like she'd stood up too fast. A slight head rush. She blew out a breath.

Okay. So. Apparently there was some complicated shit happening between the blonde dude and herself. There was no doubt that he felt some type of way about her and didn't know how to show it. And she suspected the feeling was mutual despite her put upon indifference.

Sienna was pretty astounded by these revelations. How the hell could someone have such a significant connection with another person and then just completely forget about them? Jesus. This was just getting stranger and stranger.

And another thought occurred to her. Why had he disappeared from her life? She was beginning to understand that this man was the Doctor from her own universe just as the other Doctor she'd met in October was the Doctor from a parallel universe. So where had _her_ Doctor gone? Where was he now?

Just then she heard a voice. Not inside her head. Not telepathic. It was like it was coming over a public address system through unseen speakers.

"Sienna. Where have you gone dear?"

That voice. That creepy fucking voice. It made her skin crawl. Yeah. _Definitely_ not the Doctor.

"Now where could you have disappeared to. I left you to take a little nap in the library because I thought you'd be more comfortable. Did you get lost in the corridors?"

A weird little laugh. "Shall I come find you?"

Sienna was grateful that whatever power he had over her only seemed to be effective in person. His voice did nothing but make her want to run far away.

She knew she couldn't stick around here. She needed to keep moving. But where to? Her heart was racing as she sneaked a peek into the corridor. It was all clear. She moved along the wall as it curved around. Almost like the hallway had become somewhat circular here.

"Siennaaaaa. Oh Siennaaaa. Why don't you come out and talk to the Doctor. Don't worry. I'm in the corridors now. I'll find you."

Her heart lurched in her chest. Every instinct in her body took his words as the threat they almost certainly were.

She continued quickly down the stark white corridor, hugging the wall. As she went, a door seemed to materialize on the wall beside her, right before her eyes. She blinked and it disappeared. Its appearance had been like a mirage, all wavy and not quite solid.

She reached out her hand to touch the wall where it had been and it materialized once more. When she took her hand away, it was gone again. But she had felt it. She had felt the door.

A hidden door? She felt hope rise in her chest. She looked all around her and felt the comforting hum of the TARDIS. It... no _she_ was trying to help her. (Sienna wasn't sure where the pronoun came from, but it fit. The TARDIS was most certainly a 'she'.)

Sienna touched the wall again and the door was back. She ran her hand down to the handle and opened it up.

She found a bedroom. All silver metal and black and red accents. She walked in quickly and closed the door behind her. As she backed into the bedroom, she saw the door disappear again. She breathed a sigh of relief. The TARDIS was hiding her. She was keeping Sienna safe. Away from the madman who had taken her from her apartment.

She looked around the room. It really was the perfect bedroom, Sienna thought to herself.

It had a modern feel with a silver metal framed bed and matching metal tables and lamps. The comforter was black and red with matching pillows. The floor was wood with a black and red area rug. There was a silver metal wardrobe full of cute clothes just her style and size and a silver metal book shelf full of true crime books and thriller type novels. It was like the room had been made with her in mind. There was also an attached bathroom with a huge clawfoot bathtub.

She supposed there were worse hiding places a person could get stuck with. She sighed and sat down on the bed. Not having her phone was driving her fucking nuts. It was practically another appendage to her.

She bet Silas was freaking the hell out. She knew he was smart enough to get in touch with her mother when things went wrong like they did. Perhaps they'd tracked down the real Doctor and were looking for her right now. She could only hope.

She glanced around the bedroom again and was once more hit with deja vu. _Had_ this been her room? She narrowed her eyes and looked down at the bed, ran her hand along one of the pillows. She closed her eyes and mentally spoke to the TARDIS. _Anything else you want to show me?_ The TARDIS answered almost right away with the white noise. Her point of view shifted once again and she was looking down at the bed from above.

Sienna gasped at what she saw.

"Oh _hell_ nah." Sienna stood up quickly and shook her head hard to clear the images from her mind. She was blushing from her toes to the roots of her brown hair.

She put her hands on her hips and looked all around the room, incredulous. " _Really?_ You wanna warn a motherfucker before you go showing some X rated shit like that?" Sienna blinked rapidly. The TARDIS hummed in response. _Trying to play innocent_ , Sienna thought.

She most definitely did _not_ remember _any of that_ happening. She couldn't believe this. She'd spent many years partying. Had her share of black outs, waking up next to questionable guys. She'd _never_ blacked out an entire goddamn relationship.

She shook her head again, chewed at her bottom lip.

Well, apparently the blonde Doctor had shown her one hell of a good time. And she supposed she'd learned something else important from the TARDIS.

That didn't mean she wanted to _see_ it though!

Sienna went and snatched a Dean Koontz book off the shelf and sat back down hard on the bed. She glared up at the ceiling, her eyes narrowed. _Damn pervy TARDIS_. She grumbled and opened the book to the first page.

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Present Day_

After Silas had shown Savannah the way to the bedroom, he went back to the control room to wait. The other Silas, or Lancelot as the Doctor seemed to have dubbed him, was passed out cold in a chair. He watched him for a moment.

 _Dude. Is that what I look like when I sleep?_ It was rather unsettling.

He heaved a big sigh and fidgeted with his stocking cap. He was worried to death about Sienna. He hoped that whatever they were talking about in the house would give them some idea where she was.

Silas glanced back toward the corridor. It was crazy having Savannah here. She was like Sienna in a lot of ways but there was a difference there he couldn't quite put a finger on. Obviously she looked the same, even dressed the same. Savannah did seem more mature somehow. Probably because she'd had it a bit harder growing up. Dayle had said that the Dayle from the other universe had been an addict. Silas imagined that hadn't been a walk in the park for her kid.

He sat heavily in one of the uncomfortable metal chairs and put his face in his hands. He was getting pretty tired himself.

Suddenly the door came open and the Doctor, Jesse and Dayle walked in.

"Where'd Savannah go?" Dayle wondered.

Silas nodded toward the corridor. "She was tired. She headed back to lay down in that first bedroom there."

"Ah. Her mother's bedroom." the Doctor mumbled and went to lean against the console.

"Where is _she_ anyway?" Dayle asked. "Why isn't she here with Savannah?" Dayle's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

The Doctor looked uncomfortable. "I didn't see the point in dragging her in to all this." He turned his back and began fiddling with the computer.

Dayle put her hands on her hips. "No. Hold up now. _That's_ bullshit. You've dragged her to another universe and back. Twice. So why not this time?"

He turned and looked at her. His expression plainly told her " _duh."_

Dayle pressed her lips together. "She doesn't know. She doesn't know you've changed." Silas could see she was getting a bit pissed off.

Jesse tried to break in. "Sweetheart. This really isn't any of our business."

"Aw no. Fuck that. He made her my business by bringing me into all this five years ago. If he hadn't gotten me involved, Sienna might not be missing right now." She was near tears now. Jesse put a hand on her shoulder, still trying to calm her down.

"You also might have never met Sienna." Jesse pointed out gently.

The Doctor still hadn't said a word. Just leaned against the console looking up at the ceiling.

Dayle sighed and seemed to count to ten. "So you're another guy now. A completely different person. So now you don't care about the other Dayle?" Dayle was looking at him, trying to understand.

The Doctor sighed. "You're wrong about that. I just didn't see the point in upsetting her." He scratched his forehead and sighed. "I spoke to her on the phone. She called because Savannah was having those dreams. When I spoke to her, I was _her_ Doctor. The old me." He chuckled darkly. "Couldn't quite get away at the time. So here I am." He gestured at himself. "Do you really think she'd be happy if I showed up like _this_ on her doorstep?"

Dayle squinted at him like he was stupid. "Lord of Time. Are you a complete moron? She _loves_ you." She crossed her arms and leaned back against her husband. "Of _course_ she'd be happy."

The Doctor made a derisive sound and turned back to the console. "Any way, what's done is done."

Silas finally saw a gap in the conversation. "So... Sienna?" He looked around at all of them. "Have we figured anything out yet?"

The Doctor turned toward him, put his hands in the pockets of his black coat. "Well, what I have discovered for certain is that Maren, the High Priestess on the planet Karn lied the last time we saw her. You see, Sienna and the other Dayle and I went to see the Sisterhood trying to find... a friend. Maren knew _exactly_ who Sienna was. She knew she was family. And she even said 'the girl from the woods.' We just assumed she was referring to her last name." He scratched behind his ear looking thoughtful. "I'm getting a very strong feeling it was no coincidence that Maren played such a large role in the death of... our friend."

"How very cryptic of you." Dayle muttered. "You gonna fill in the blanks for us? Ever?"

The Doctor cleared his throat and leveled his intense gaze at her. After a moment of silence, he began. "It's an awfully long story. Complicated. I'll try to stick to the highlights. After you destroyed the Tregannon in the woods with the Anti Time sphere it created a temporal anomaly. It affected your entire timeline. It was as if my entering your universe five years ago never happened. It erased Jesse from your life. And Gabe. Retroactively."

Dayle gasped audibly and grabbed for Jesse's hand.

The Doctor continued. "How we came to know this is because... well, the Doctor from _this_ universe came along to investigate something that Maren told him about. Maren being _your_ great grandmother." he pointed at Dayle. "The other Doctor met Sienna in the woods that day. She had just gotten out of rehab and had relapsed. He befriended her. He even came to her rescue when her ex boyfriend Chris attacked her. The Doctor brought her along with him in his TARDIS. Then the other Dayle and I got involved. We were trying to help fix the timeline. We soon discovered it was the Anti Time that was causing a problem. What we didn't know, was there was still a whole other problem."

He stopped and took a breath. Everyone in the control room waited silently for him to go on.

"Sienna and the other Doctor traveled to the altered timeline via a Time Corridor in the woods. What they discovered was that Sienna was dead in that timeline." He looked at Dayle, his eyes unreadable. She blinked in surprise.

Silas felt his stomach drop. _Sienna was dead?_

"It turned out, in the skewed timeline, the other Doctor never intervened when she was attacked by Chris. Chris murdered her in the parking lot of a grocery store." It was obvious that the topic was troubling to him. He fidgeted with the ends of his coat. "At the time we assumed it was the Anti Time Sphere. But then we went back and fixed things. It fixed _your_ timeline, but Sienna was still dead." He sighed and looked at all of them.

"What happened was partially my fault." he admitted, sounding wracked with guilt. "The other Doctor went back to his past to try to figure out what kept him from showing up to meet Sienna. We got worried and went after him. Sienna made a choice that changed the past. Changed the future. She healed a friend of his, created a paradox. In a way, she unknowingly caused her own death."

The Doctor stepped away from the console and went to sit in one of the jumpseats. He suddenly looked very tired. "It seemed there was no way to fix things. That Sienna was just meant to die. Until we discovered a temporal loophole involving the creation of a binary black hole. Throwing anti time at its singularity point, winding back the clock. Undoing the paradox. But it meant someone had to be there, at the explosion. _In_ the explosion."

Dayle made everyone jump a little when she broke in. "He sacrificed himself didn't he? To save Sienna. He caused the explosion. And then you wiped her memory." She sounded certain. The Doctor's expression was answer enough.

Silas was confused. "But why? Why did you need to wipe her memory?" He was standing now, caught up in the telling of what happened.

"Because they fell in love with each other." Dayle guessed softly, eyeing the Doctor. "Isn't that right? He sacrificed himself because they'd fallen in love. And then he asked you to wipe her memory so she wouldn't have to grieve." Dayle had tears in her eyes. She actually looked heartbroken for her daughter. For the whole situation.

The Doctor nodded. "That's correct. I didn't want to wipe her memory. But I made a promise to him. We thought she-"

"That she'd relapse?" Silas asked flatly. He was feeling a ton of different emotions. But he felt like he understood Sienna a bit better. It made sense why she couldn't give her heart to anyone else. She was in love with someone she couldn't even remember.

"Yes. Well. It seems it was all for nothing anyway." The Doctor pointed out. "Since the Master has his TARDIS and Lenore is having dreams of him trying to communicate, it appears he didn't die after all. And we have to find him." He looked troubled. "What we must find out first, is if the Master is somehow connected with the Sisterhood of Karn on this. Or if he just stumbled his way into an opportunity."

"And how do you propose we figure that out?" Dayle wondered, sounding weary.

"I think it's high time I give my old friend a call, don't you?" The Doctor's face was hard, his eyes a bit crazy. Silas was beginning to feel a little sorry for the Master. He had a feeling he'd pissed of the wrong guy.


	12. Chapter 12

**_"It's a cruel and random world_**

 ** _but the chaos is all so beautiful."_**

 ** _-Hiromu Arakawa_**

* * *

 _Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS, Six Months Earlier _

_They were in the console room together, Sienna and her Doctor. Eleven and Dayle had gone for a walk. Sienna had been leaning against him, their arms around each other. They had been having a playful, affectionate moment. But now she backed away, suddenly feeling wide awake. There was something in his tone that she didn't care for._

 _"Doctor. I may not be clairvoyant but I have developed quite a knack for knowing when you're about to say something I'm not gonna like." She crossed her arms over her chest and studied him anxiously._

 _He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor for a moment. "Sienna. I need you to try to stay calm and just listen for a moment. Do you think you can do that?"_

 _She took a deep breath and covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide. She nodded._

 _"What's happened... the temporal paradox we've created... it's something called a grandfather paradox. It's when a future event prevents the occurrence of a past event which actually caused the future event in the first place. Since we are currently out of time, the effects of the paradox have not caught up with us. The fact of your death has not caught up with us either. But that's not a state we can maintain for much longer."_

 _She nodded once more, her apprehension increasing by the second._

 _"There's one way that I know of to resolve the paradox... and ensure your survival at the same time. By reconciling the two outcomes that exist simultaneously. It involves creating a binary black hole and then sending a burst of anti-time past the event horizon straight to the singularity point." He shrugged, trying to keep his face casual. "It's like rewinding the tape. Straight back to the inception point of the paradox. Would completely straighten out cause and effect."_

 _Sienna's voice was hollow and tight when she asked him "How exactly does the anti-time enter the black hole?"_

 _He walked over to her then and put his arms back around her. "An exploding TARDIS should do the trick." he told her softly._

 _And finally she understood. He intended to die in her place. She felt her whole world come crashing down. She suddenly felt physically ill. Dizzy. She felt her legs start to give but he grabbed onto her tightly and wouldn't let her fall. He began to talk fast, like his words were a dam that could hold back the heartbreak now rushing toward her._

 _"Listen. I need you to remember something. Never forget it, no matter what else happens. I love everything about you. Your kindness, your beauty, your stubbornness, your preternatural wisdom. I love your flaws and your pain and the fact that you are somehow always barefoot." He peered down at her face, smiling sadly. "Don't you get it? This was always meant to happen."_

 _She finally found her voice. And it was furious. "You can't do this to me. I won't let you." Her fingertips dug into his arms painfully, part of her wanting him to hurt as she did. But he still refused to let go. Her eyes blazed and she shook her head. "Eleven told me that there was more than one way to fix a fucking paradox. You've only chosen this way because you want to change what happened to me."_

 _He looked into her eyes wordlessly, but he didn't deny it._

 _"This is fucking ridiculous. How dare you? How dare you make me the reason the Doctor's life ends. The universe's hero. The great Time Lord." She laughed humorlessly. "Over some junkie skank. Fucking ridiculous." She shoved him away from her then, hard. Tears poured from her eyes and she paced the length of the control room, muttering to herself._

 _The Doctor sounded exasperated. "This isn't about the 'great Time Lord'. It's not about me at all. Sienna, can't you see? This isn't my story. It never was."_

 _His words caused her to turn and pay attention. She was mystified._

 _He continued firmly. "I was meant to come here and stop your death from happening. You had it right the day we met. My role in your life, in your story was always to be your guardian angel." He seemed to choke up a bit on those words. Her guardian angel. "The Reverend Mother told me that the explosion at Malum is a fixed point. I was always meant to save you, to keep your story going. I was never meant to have a happy ending."_

 _"But... it's not fair." she insisted._

 _The Doctor looked down but not before she saw the tears in his eyes. She walked to him and grabbed him in a hug, to comfort him, to comfort herself. He held her close and she sobbed against his chest for a few moments._

 _After a time, she looked up at him, feeling hopeless. "This isn't right. In the scheme of things, I am nothing. Not worth the universe losing you. All you do to help people." She made a sound of disgust. "You've done so much good and known so much pain. And this is the thanks you get?" She squinted at him incredulously. "This is your reward? To sacrifice yourself yet again? Please don't do this. Do anything but this."_

 _He looked into her face like he was still ready for a fight but something he saw there brought peace to him. And he smiled._

 _"You're wrong Sienna." He told her confidently. "My reward was meeting you. My reward is love. I've spent my lives running, never standing still because the universe is just too big. There were too many adventures I might miss. Too many beautiful places to behold." He shook his head. "But this." He gestured between the two of them. "There is nothing bigger than this. No greater adventure. Nothing more beautiful."_

 _She just stood there, marveling at his words. Could it be possible that she was worth that much to him? That he loved her that much?_

 _"Do you really think I consider this a sacrifice?" he whispered. "To know you'll be safe? To know that my actions will keep you out of harm's way?"_

 _He kissed her gently, then looked into her eyes, certain. "This is no sacrifice. Not a chance. Why, this is my exaltation."_

 _"Doctor..." she sighed._

 _He touched her face gently, one last time._

 _"Brave heart Sienna." he told her firmly, then abruptly broke their embrace and left the control room, walked right out the door toward his own TARDIS._

 _Sienna stood dumbly for a second before it dawned on her that he was actually leaving. Right then and there._

 _"Wait." she called weakly before running out the door after him. When she exited the TARDIS, she was stopped by Eleven who was standing right outside. He held onto her tightly as she strained to escape his grasp. "No, please..." she pleaded._

 _The Fifth Doctor never looked back. He simply entered his TARDIS, headed for the console, and initiated the dematerialization sequence._

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Present Day_

Savannah woke with a start and found that she had been crying in her sleep. No, practically sobbing. She wiped at her eyes, feeling panicked, tried to get her breathing under control. She felt a bit hysterical.

She also suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She scrambled over the end of the bed and ran for the toilet. She almost didn't make it. She was violently ill. She knelt in front of the commode gasping for air. And still crying.

She felt like she was losing her mind. The dream. It was like it had all really happened to her. She was certainly feeling a little better now that her mind was starting to clear, but the residue of grief remained.

 _So the dead Doctor and the Sienna chick... they'd been in love?_ Savannah stood slowly and made her way back to the bed. She thought she finally understood why the Doctor had wiped Sienna's memories. Like that depressing ass memory she had just dreamed about.

There was a tap on the door and Silas stuck his head in. She had to think for a minute. He was wearing the stocking cap. So, the _other_ Silas.

When he saw her face he entered the room looking concerned. "Hey. Are you alright? Have you been crying?" he wondered, studying her face curiously.

Savannah sighed, thinking she had it under control. "Yes." she confirmed. Then began to cry even harder than before. _Christ on a cracker._ This shit wasn't fair. She tried to get control of herself because she could tell by his expression, the kid did _not_ know what to do with a crying girl.

He looked like he wasn't sure if he should run away or try to comfort her. "Wh-wh-what the fuck happened?" His eyes were wide.

She took a couple deep breaths. "Another dream." she managed to tell him.

Silas narrowed his eyes. "A dream did this to you? What the hell was the dream about?" He sat next to her on the bed without asking. She honestly couldn't care less about decorum at the moment.

After some more breathing and reminding herself that the shit hadn't even happened to her, that _she_ wasn't the one in love with the blonde dude, she got herself calm again. "It was one of Sienna's memories." She told him. "They were saying good bye. The other Doctor was going to sacrifice his life for her. She was crushed. Because... well she-"

"She was in love with him? Yeah. I just got that memo myself." He looked incredibly uncomfortable. "So it was pretty sad for her then I guess?" He looked down at his hands.

Yep. The guy definitely had it bad for Sienna. She nodded in reply and studied him. "Yeah, I'd say it fucked her up pretty bad." She scoffed. "Hell it fucked me up and it had nothing to do with me."

She sighed. "Give me a second here." She jumped up and went to the sink. Splashed cold water on her face. She turned back to him, drying herself on a towel. He was standing again, hands in pockets.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, still looking concerned.

She smiled. "Yeah. Just a little vicarious grieving. Totally normal right?"

He chuckled. "Well, maybe it's this new version of normal we're all being treated to."

She nodded her agreement with a smirk. "So what did you want? When you knocked on the door?" She wondered.

"Oh, right." He shook his head as if to clear it. "The Doctor is gonna try to call that dude. The Master. I thought you might want to be around for that. I have a feeling shit's about to get even crazier around here." He raised his eyebrows. They headed into the corridor together. "Dayle and Jesse went to bed about an hour ago. She got pretty upset while you were passed out."

Savannah sighed. "I can imagine."

"The Doctor gave her something to help her sleep. Jesse looked relieved."

After a moment of silence, she asked, "What about... well... other you?" Man she sounded like an idiot.

"You mean Lancelot?" Savannah giggled and nodded. "He's out for the count. The Doctor showed him to a little TV room area and he crashed on the sofa there."

"Well. Let him sleep. I think I've caused him enough trauma for one night." She followed him back to the console room.

The Doctor looked up, clearly disapproving. "I told you not to wake her, Friendzone." he fixed Silas with an annoyed look.

Silas froze and narrowed his eyes. "Seriously?"

Savannah face palmed. _Here we go._

The Doctor crossed his arms, looking puzzled. "Yes seriously. She's had quite a week. She could do with a rest."

" _Friendzone?_ " Silas asked between clenched teeth.

"Oh _that_." The Doctor nodded his understanding. He casually pulled his cell phone out and plugged it into the console with a long silver cord. He looked back up at Silas, his eyebrows raised. "It fits. You've got the whole one-sided love thing going on with Sienna. A bit sad actually." He flipped a switch on the control panel.

Savannah audibly gasped. She couldn't believe he'd gone there. She looked quickly over at Silas who was silently seething. After a moment he went and sat in one of the jumpseats, crossed his hands in his lap. He just sat shaking his head, a humorless smile on his handsome face, like he simply couldn't quite believe the guy's nerve.

"He _didn't_ wake me up by the way." She glared at the Doctor, hands on hips. "I had another of those dreams." She started to walk away then turned back. "And is it _possible_ for you to do your freaky alien telepath thing on someone and _not_ be a dick about it after?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

The Doctor stopped his work at the console. He squinted over at her, still not seeming to get the problem. "Have I said something untrue? You can't tell me it isn't obvious. I myself thought it a clever way to differentiate him from Lancelot."

"The dream Savannah. _Tell him about the damn dream_." Silas shouted, sounding like he'd had more than enough.

Savannah sighed. She told the Doctor all about it, including her reaction when she woke up. He was silent and started fiddling with his cell phone again.

She sat down by Silas and shook her head, confused. She looked up at the Doctor. "Have you figured out yet _how_ I'm getting these memories in my brain? Am I just a telepath now all of a sudden?"

The Doctor put his finger to his lips. "Shush." He gestured toward the phone. It emitted a burbling sound followed by static. Suddenly a voice came on the line.

"Well Doctor. How nice of you to check in." the voice was evil incarnate. Just slimy sounding, creepy.

And apparently familiar. Silas was on his feet. He pointed at the phone. "That's him!" he whispered.

The Doctor nodded in response to Silas, then turned his attention back to the phone. "What's your game Master?"

"Oh you know. Just getting to know a good friend of yours. A valuable friend. You realize _what_ she is don't you?" He gave a chilling little laugh. Savannah shuddered. _Yuck._

The Doctor's jaw was set. "Cut the riddles if you don't mind. How did you come by that TARDIS you've stolen?"

"Oh...now that would be telling." more creepy giggling.

The Doctor practically growled. "If you harm one hair on that girl's head-"

"I'm offended that you would even suggest that!" The Master feigned shock. "I would never hurt such a lovely young lady. Barter with her? Perhaps. Hurt her? Certainly not."

"You know this isn't going to end well for you old friend. It never does." The Doctor scratched the back of his head, propped a foot up on the bottom rail of the console. He sounded tired and fed up with the conversation. It didn't seem to be getting them anywhere, Savannah thought.

"Well, perhaps things are different in your universe." The Master suggested slyly. "Perhaps in _this_ universe, the Doctor doesn't always get to win. Must run now. In the middle of a game of hide and seek." He tittered. "And I'm it." There was a click and the phone disconnected.

The Doctor pursed his lips and studied a monitor near where he'd plugged his phone in. A half smile formed on world-weary face and he tapped the screen, clearly pleased with himself. Silas and Savannah exchanged a look.

"So... are you going to clue us in as to why you look like you've already beat him when it sounded like he was giving you the runaround." Savannah wanted to know.

The Doctor turned to look at her, looking like he'd forgotten he wasn't alone momentarily. "Right. Well to answer that question, that call went through the console of the other TARDIS. What the Master probably failed to consider is that I could communicate directly with the TARDIS, not just him." He grinned and held his phone up. "I got a lock on her. Upon connection she sent a silent distress signal to my TARDIS."

Before Savannah or Silas could respond to this bit of news, he went on. "And to answer your earlier question, no you are _not_ suddenly telepathic. But I suspect the tiny human you are carrying in your body is. _She_ is what is causing the dreams."

Savannah stared at him, dumbfounded. She stood up and took a step toward him. " _What the hell are you talking about_?" she sputtered.

"I told you earlier." the Doctor stated impatiently. "The power of Pythia _skips_ a generation. Your mother has it and now it would seem your _daughter_ has it."

Savannah sat down so hard, she bit her tongue.

The Doctor walked over to where she sat and looked down at her curiously. "I take it you didn't know about the new human." She shook her head dumbly. His brow furrowed. "I suppose I left that part out after we left Karn. Ohila told me the good news." He pressed his lips together for a moment. Then he shrugged and went back to the console and started making some adjustments.

Savannah touched her fingertips to her abdomen gently. _Daughter?_ Holy shit. She noticed Silas was looking at her out of the corner of her eye. She looked back at him, still feeling quite shook.

"Uh...Congratulations?" he asked her uncertainly. Savannah was speechless.

"All humans aboard should probably get some sleep while you have the chance." The Doctor informed them, sounding pissed off. "It may take a couple hours to get this distress communication sorted. It appears our friend the Master is a bit more clever than I gave him credit for. He scrambled the signal."


	13. Chapter 13

" _ **You wandered down the road and far away**_

 _ **Leaving me a song that would not die**_

 _ **Love is now the stardust of yesterday**_

 _ **The music of the years gone by."**_

 _ **(from Nat King Cole's 'Stardust')**_

* * *

 _Burgess County, OH October 30, 1957_

 _Theia woke from a restful, dreamless sleep in Clyde Shipley's bed. Since the night he'd found her laying in the road four days earlier, he had allowed her to stay with him in his home. He'd even given up his bed for her and had been sleeping on a sofa in another room._

 _She sat up and listened to the silence in the house. It was just Clyde and herself out here, far from any form of civilization. It was quite a change after spending centuries with dozens of other women. And not just in physical proximity._

 _Being around the sacred flame meant often sharing the thoughts of the Sisterhood. Theia closed her eyes and reveled in the quiet of her mind. She would have never thought it could be such a relief. If Ohica had been right about anything, it was the peace she had found here._

 _There was a light tap at the door. "Theia?" Clyde poked his head in. She was surprised once again at how her hearts sped up at his presence, at the inexplicable sense of euphoria that overtook her._

 _She found herself smiling at him. "Good morning." she greeted softly, feeling flushed. She was rarely grateful for her Time Lord blood. Since coming to earth however and meeting Clyde, she was thankful that she possessed the ability to assimilate to any language as only a Time Lord could. She had picked up human English within two days._

 _He gave her an appealing half smile. "Good morning young lady. I need to run into town for a few things. Would you like to join me?" He looked hopeful._

 _She thought for a moment. As much as she enjoyed Clyde's company, she had taken to sitting on the back porch with a cup of hot tea each morning. The house was backed by a large section of woods and she found the trees and wildlife fascinating. And she craved the tranquility."Will you be gone long?" she wondered, feeling slightly guilty._

 _He smiled, understanding. "Not at all. Just relax here. I'll see you when I get back." He lingered a moment longer in the doorway, then was gone._

 _She watched after him, filled with a confusing mix of emotions._

 _Young lady, he called her. She smiled to herself. Clyde had no idea that compared to the human life cycle, Theia was anything but young._

 _She sighed and got out of the bed. As she straightened the covers, she thought of Clyde. He was a surprise to her. Theia couldn't remember being around men, ever in her life. The Sisterhood had their ideas about the male gender. The sons of all the planets. Next to sons of Gallifrey, the sons of Earth were thought to be the worst of all._

 _Misogyny, the gravest sin of all in the eyes of the Sisterhood. It was all about dominance. About how for millenia, males had exploited the physical vulnerabilities of females to claim superiority. Pregnancy. Childbirth. Raising the young. Smaller muscle mass. Less physical strength. These burdens of women were seen as weaknesses. And conquest, control and manipulation became strengths._

 _The Sisterhood drew on the knowledge of the Pythia for the truth about a woman's strength. The ability to create life, to nurture, to empathize, to use one's mind as a weapon rather than a fist. These were the true gifts of the Pythia. The telepathy was just a bonus._

 _Of course, Theia believed that much of what she'd been taught over the centuries was not always put into practice. She had seen her share of hypocrisy and corruption among the Sisterhood. Her own mother was not exactly a font of nurturing or empathy. She shook off the thought. Remembering her mother only caused pain. And she was determined not to live in the past._

 _Theia finished with the covers and went off to the bathroom to get cleaned up. When she returned to the bedroom, she searched in the trunk at the foot of the bed for clothing. Clyde had told her that all his mother's dresses were there for her to wear. She found a simple flowered dress and pulled it on._

 _Clyde was not like the men she'd heard of her whole life. He was compassionate and thoughtful. He was gentle toward her and everyone else she'd seen him interact with. He was also an intellectual who was very interested in world affairs. He read two newspapers every morning. He loved to read. He sat in front of the fire in the evenings smoking his pipe and losing himself in a book. He was sensitive as well. He had talked to her openly about his family and an old girlfriend that had broken his heart. She found him fascinating. Even beautiful._

 _She swept into the small kitchen to make herself some tea. There on the table, she found a flat square package, wrapped in brown paper. She looked down at it curiously. On the brown paper, Clyde had written, "Theia- I thought you might like this."_

 _She smiled. This was the third morning in a row he'd left a little gift for her. The first day it had been a yellow flower, yesterday it had been a beautiful porcelain teacup._

 _She pulled the paper away to find a tan, flat piece of cardboard with what looked like a painting of a handsome and dark young man. The words "Love is the Thing" were printed to the left of the picture. Just beneath the young man's face, the words "The Voice of Nat King Cole" were scrawled. Theia narrowed her eyes at the gift. She didn't quite understand what it was or what it was for. Was it art? The young man did look nice._

 _She set the flat package back on the table and went about making her tea. She was surprised when Clyde returned just as she was finishing up._

" _You were fast." she told him shyly._

 _He smiled and set a glass bottle of milk, a can of coffee and his two newspapers on the table. "Did you like your gift?" he wondered eagerly, gesturing to it._

 _She pressed her lips together and nodded. She didn't know how to tell him she didn't know what it was. He probably already thought she was strange enough._

" _Well don't you want to listen to it?" he laughed and grabbed it off the table and pulled her behind him into the living room. She giggled and followed along, careful not to spill her tea._

 _He pulled a round black disc out of the cardboard and went and placed it on some sort of turntable device. Theia watched him curiously, standing in the doorway, sipping her tea. He flipped a switch and the room was filled with the sound of music._

 _Ah, music. She smiled. She knew about music. The Sisterhood used both vocals and even instruments in some of their ceremonies. Theia's favorite part of the full moons festival was the dancing though Maren seemed to frown on anything that brought her daughter pleasure._

 _Theia sat now in a chair and listened intently. This music. This music was extraordinary. She set her tea down and closed her eyes, riveted by the sound. Stringed instruments and some type of wood wind. And then a stunning, rich voice. A male's voice... She gasped. She had never heard a man sing._

 ** _When I fall in love_**

 ** _it will be forever_**

 ** _or I'll never fall in love..._**

 _She felt something stir in her chest. It was exquisite, this music. The way it made her feel._

" _Theia..." she looked up, startled to hear her name spoken so close._

 _Clyde was standing over her, that half smile on his face, his hand held out. "Would you like to dance?"_

 _Theia felt a flush come over her whole body. Would she like to dance? Oh yes. She would indeed._

 _She allowed Clyde to pull her into his arms. She wasn't sure exactly what his idea of dancing was, but was surprised to find it involved a lot of touching. He placed her arms around his neck and his arms went around her waist. And it was like little tiny sparks, all along her skin. They started to move in time to the music._

 _She was surprised at her reaction to his touch. Surprised but not ignorant. She understood just what she was feeling._

 ** _And the moment I can feel that_**

 ** _you feel that way too_**

 ** _is when I fall in love with you..._**

 _She looked up at him, into his eyes. "I like this music." she told him softly._

 _He was squinting down at her, very serious. "So do I." His voice sounded rough, he looked almost like someone in a trance._

 _And that was the moment. The moment that Theia of the Sisterhood of Karn, half Time Lady, half High Priestess, fell in love with a son of Earth._

* * *

 _Fifth Doctor's Highjacked Tardis, Present Day_

Sienna sat up, completely disoriented. An old song was running through her head. 'When I Fall in Love' by Nat King Cole. The dream she'd had. About a girl much like herself. She was dancing with a handsome man. Falling in love. It was the same girl from the caves in her earlier dream. The one who'd teleported to escape death.

 _Strange barren landscape... peculiar women wearing red robes._

It occurred to Sienna that the caves and the red robes also had been present in the dreams Lenore had been having about her. She narrowed her eyes. Perhaps Lenore hadn't been dreaming of Sienna at all. The girl in the dream... she looked quite a bit like herself, she realized. And she was sure the girl was someone real. Someone with her own story. Perhaps someone the TARDIS wanted her to know about.

The girl was from Karn, she realized. The Sisterhood of Karn.

 _Now how the hell did I know that?_ She rubbed her eyes, feeling puzzled. She'd never heard of a place called Karn...

Sienna looked around the room. She had no sense of whether it was day or night at his point. She saw no clocks anywhere. Ironic considering she was in a time machine, she thought snarkily.

At least her pursuer had not located her yet. She wasn't sure how much control the TARDIS had over the situation but she definitely did not feel she was out of danger. Sienna really needed to figure out what the hell was happening. She was beginning to think maybe she should try to talk to the guy.

She scooted to the end of the bed and considered it. She knew that in his presence before, he had done some mind control shit to her and the last thing she wanted to was to be out of control. But...hearing his voice didn't seem to affect her the same way. If only she could talk to him from the safety of this room.

There was a short wheezing sound followed by a puff of smoke and an old fashioned telephone materialized right on the wall of the bedroom. Sienna blinked.

"Whoa." she muttered, impressed. "Go on now David Blaine."

She stood and approached the phone uncertainly. What the hell do you say to a maniac who has kidnapped you?

She picked up the receiver and immediately heard a burbling, melodic sound, then static. Then that _voice_.

"Well there you are Sienna. I was beginning to feel lonely." He said this in an oily, seductive tone.

Sienna's lip curled of its own accord. This guy was unquestionably repulsive.

"Cut the shit man. Who the hell _are_ you?" she wondered. "What do you want from me?"

He chuckled ominously. "You can call me the Master. But then, this isn't about who I am dear. This is about who _you_ are. Or rather, _what_ you are."

Sienna smirked at the cryptic response. "Okay Riddler. _What_ exactly am I then?"

"Oh don't you know? Your dear friend the Doctor never told you?" He laughed like this was particularly delicious news to him. "You are a daughter of Karn, Sienna. _You_ have the power of Pythia. I suspect the Sisterhood would be very interested in having you to tea."

Sienna's felt her heart pounding in her chest. The Sisterhood. Karn? She knew he was talking about her healing power somehow. But how could he know this about her?

"Dude. Who are you to the Doctor? And why do you have his TARDIS?" She tried her best to sound tough despite the fact that her voice was shaking and she felt like she might throw up.

"The Doctor and I go way back. We grew up together. And we just can't seem to stop running into each other. You know, we Time Lords don't go in for the concept of fate but there have been certain synchronicities over the years. Some things are just a bit too strange for coincidence. Don't you agree?"

She kept her teeth clenched shut, waiting for him to get to the goddamn point. He went on. "Well, some would say it was a coincidence that I happened near the Malum star system the night he caused a neutron star collision, created a _beautiful_ binary black hole. But it seems to me that providence decreed it. I saw that his TARDIS was being pulled in and I just couldn't allow that to happen. So I materialized my TARDIS around his." He cackled. "Oh, but he was surprised when I tapped on his door. You should've seen his face."

 _Malum Star System. Neutron star collision. Binary Black Hole._ Sienna suddenly felt very dizzy. She felt a burning sensation around the edges of her mind. It was like something big was trying to break through, to rush back in. Her memories, she supposed. She dropped the receiver and put her hands to her head. It was too much, whatever it was. She could feel her heart pounding in her temples. She thought her head would explode. She could hear that fucker, the Master laughing hysterically.

She grabbed the receiver once more, wincing from the pain. "Master. Please just tell me one thing. The Doctor. The blonde guy whose TARDIS you stole... is he dead?"

"Oh Sienna, silly, silly child. If the Doctor was dead, his TARDIS would be dead by now as well. The symbiosis of their relationship links them for all eternity." He chuckled. Evidently the prick thought everything that came out of his own mouth was funny.

Sienna's headache had begun to subside. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is he then?" she demanded, feeling more in control. "What have you done with him?"

"I assure you, he is quite safe... for the time being. It's the only way I can assure the cooperation of his TARDIS you see."

 _Smug dick._ Sienna thought hatefully. _Doesn't realize the TARDIS has been helping me all along._

"Now, it's been positively splendid chatting with you, but I have some important matters to attend to. Do call again soon." He disconnected.

Sienna stood blinking, looking at the receiver. Strange. He'd been so fast to get off the phone. After all his "I'm coming to find you" bullshit and pursuing her in the corridors, suddenly he seemed satisfied for her to stay wherever she was. Like he'd lost interest in tracking her down.

Why was that...? She wondered. What had changed?

The TARDIS hummed and then provided Sienna with one of its memory recordings. Only... this particular memory had nothing to do with her. She heard the white noise, and then...

" _Do you mind telling me what all this is for? What do you hope to accomplish by holding me captive here?"_

The Doctor. His voice sounded weak, distressed, but it was definitely him. Sienna's eyes narrowed in confusion. Wait a minute...

" _Oh Doctor. You're forgetting... how easy it will be to access her telepathic circuits. Think of all I can learn."_ Then the now familiar deranged laugh. _"Your TARDIS will have no choice but to work with me on whatever I choose to do. So long as I am in control over whether you live or die. Sit tight. I'll be in to check on you again soon."_

As the little audio memory ended, Sienna felt adrenaline shoot through her system. So far, every memory the TARDIS had played for her had taken place _on board_ the TARDIS.

Suddenly it started to make sense. The Master had been pursuing her only until he discovered that she didn't know _where_ the Doctor was. That she hadn't been roaming the halls hoping to find him. To help him.

The Doctor. The Doctor was right here on the TARDIS.

Sienna was certain of it.


	14. Chapter 14

" _ **You can't master your future**_

 _ **if you're still a slave to your past."**_

 _ **-Habeeb Akande**_

* * *

 _Fifth Doctor's TARDIS, Malum Star System, 2012_

 _An alarm on the console began to sound, telling him a collision was imminent. He sighed in relief. He had done it._

 _The Doctor sat in one of the jump seats and took a deep breath in, then exhaled slowly, calming himself. He was glad that his involuntary passenger, Arc was unconscious. He didn't wish to deal with him anymore._

 _"No need to end things on an unpleasant note." he exclaimed over the sound of the cloister bell, the collision alarm, and the TARDIS shuddering violently._

 _He closed his eyes and his mind went back to that fateful parking lot in Kirkmore. After he'd saved Sienna from the brutal attack by her ex boyfriend, his knuckles had been bruised and bloodied._

 _She took his hand, held it up, and touched the injuries gently. She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. And suddenly, the Doctor's hand was as good as new._

 _When she opened her eyes, he could only stare in amazement at her. This human girl who somehow had the power to heal a Time Lord. She smiled at him, and kissed his hand where the injury had been._

 _He saw her brown eyes, full of gratitude and wonder._

 _"Thank you Guardian Angel."_

 _And the Doctor smiled._

 _And then... he heard a knock at the TARDIS door._

 _His eyes sprang open in confusion. Looked and saw that the Zygon, Arc was still unconscious near his stolen ship. The Doctor leaped to his feet looking all around, incredulous._

" _Impossible..." he said out loud._

 _The TARDIS seemed to have frozen, he realized. No more cloister bell, no collision alarm, no shuddering. He perceived a disruption in time. Like someone or something had created a temporal cessation. Had frozen time, at least momentarily._

 _He made his way to the console feeling disoriented. Wondering if maybe he wasn't already dead. Pulled the door lever._

 _A familiar face stared back at him from the other side. Inside his own terribly damaged TARDIS which had materialized around the Doctor's._

" _Master?" he gasped in disbelief._

" _Doctor." the Master scolded in exaggerated disappointment. "You didn't think I'd let you leave without saying good bye, did you?" He laughed and pointed some type of device at the Doctor. He pressed a button before the Doctor had a chance to reply._

 _The device instantly paralyzed the Doctor, who fell to the console room floor with a thud and a grunt. He landed with his full weight on his left shoulder. He heard a popping sound. He supposed it was dislocated. He was fully conscious but unable to move a finger. He found he did still have his voice however._

" _Master, you have no idea what you're doing." he told his nemesis with a great deal of urgency. "You must not interfere with my objective."_

" _Ah, I see you're on another one of your missions to save the universe old friend." The Master strolled casually around the control room, sizing the place up. He walked over to the comatose Zygon and poked at him with his left foot. Giggled. "Interesting choice of companion these days."_

 _The Doctor struggled inside his mind to overcome the paralysis, to move somehow. It was useless. He made a sound of frustration. "You don't understand. I am righting a paradox here. If you don't allow my TARDIS containing these two anti-time spheres to detonate and reach the binary singularity point, the consequences will be... unthinkable."_

 _Sienna's face flashed inside his mind and his hearts lurched. She could still die, he realized, horrified._

 _The Master came to stand at the Doctor's head, looking down on him. He looked even more smug than usual. "Oh dear Doctor. I wouldn't want to spoil all your hard work. I'm a reasonable man." He tittered and crouched down, to bring himself closer to the Doctor's face. "I'm more than willing to strike a compromise."_

 _The Doctor closed his eyes and sighed. This was going to cost him big._

" _What do you want?" the Doctor asked flatly, opening his eyes once more._

 _The Master's expressive eyes lit up. "Not much, I assure you. You see, my TARDIS is on her last legs. And this temporal cessation she's currently maintaining will likely be the very end of her power." He made a tsk tsk sound and stood back up. Paced the console room. He gestured expansively around. "What I really need is a new TARDIS. But as you know, one can't just take another Time Lord's TARDIS..."_

 _He paused dramatically. "But...perhaps if you'd be willing to grant me access to your TARDIS interface... well, I'm sure we can arrange for things to happen just as you'd planned. Only, we shall simply let my TARDIS go into the explosion instead."_

 _The Master stood, his arms crossed, gazing at the Doctor shrewdly. Waiting to see how he'd react. The Master plainly knew that he'd already won._

 _The Doctor could feel his hearts speed up. Granting the Master permission to operate the interface of his TARDIS would give him unfettered access to all the Doctor's recent travels, to information stored in her data core, and most troubling of all, into the telepathic circuits._

 _The Zygon started to groan and stir. Without breaking eye contact with the Doctor, the Master flipped a switch on his little device, pointed it in the creature's direction and pressed a button. Arc was instantly atomized._

 _The Doctor sighed. "Yes yes. Okay. You've quite made your point. If you could just do as you say you'll do... send the anti-time into the binary black hole that's about to form, I...I will give you anything you ask for." He felt horrible dread overtake him as the words left his lips. But he was helpless and the only strategy he had at his disposal was to play for time._

 _The Master looked pleased. "Well Doctor. You see. That wasn't so hard after all." He made an adjustment with a knob on the device and zapped the Doctor once more._

 _The Doctor made an audible sound of relief when he discovered he could move again. It did him little good though. His entire body felt rubbery and weak. The Master reached down under his uninjured arm and pulled him to his feet. "Upsy daisy!" he declared maniacally as he tugged the Doctor toward the console._

 _The Doctor stumbled along, completely unable to gain any footing of his own. It was like he was no longer paralyzed but all the energy had been drained from him. It was a complete nightmare._

 _At the console, the Master gestured to the control panel. "Come along now Doctor." he encouraged jovially. "I'll let you dematerialize us away, leaving behind only what you wish to feed to the black hole. And then I expect you to keep good on your word." He pointed the device at the Doctor, his expression clearly showing that he had no compunction about atomizing his old friend if it came right down to it._

 _The Doctor sighed and leaned heavily against the console. He lifted his weak, shaking hands. The Master reached over and placed them where they needed to be._

 _The Doctor feebly typed in the specifications for his desired actions then barely managed to pull down the lever. At the same time, the Master pulled a square remote from his pocket and pressed a big gray button. Just as the Doctor's TARDIS began to make the familiar wheezing, groaning sound, time was restarted._

 _The TARDIS dematerialized to the vortex leaving behind the Master's TARDIS, Arc's ship and the anti-time sphere._

 _The Master pulled up the scanner to show the impact of the neutron stars and the resulting formation of the binary black hole. It was certainly a sight to see. The Master's TARDIS exploded in the very next second. The white fire was sucked inward, swirling in a vortex into the black hole. Inward toward the singularity._

 _The Doctor closed his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief. His plan should still work._

" _Now Doctor." The Master coaxed, placing the Doctor's right hand flat against a palm scanning interface. "You're in no shape to drive. Be a good chap and hand over your keys." He chuckled, beyond pleased with himself and excited at the prospect of being in control._

 _The Doctor made a sound of disgust and closed his eyes, communicating with his TARDIS telepathically._

 _'Grant him access Old Girl. Do as he says. But you must find a way to get help. Reach out in any way you can. Look for any opportunity you can. We have friends in this universe. And we've never needed one more than we do right now.'_

 _He finally opened his eyes, stared straight ahead and whispered, "It's done."_

 _The Master eagerly reached out and typed in a command. The TARDIS immediately obliged._

 _He grinned triumphantly. "Thank you. This means the world to me. You have no idea." He said this like the Doctor had handed over his TARDIS out of the goodness of his heart rather than through extortion._

 _Then the Master once again fiddled with the dial on his favorite new toy and pressed the button to re-paralyze the Doctor._

 _This time, on his way down, the Doctor's face bounced off the control panel, cracking his forehead open. He rolled off the console and he hit the floor hard, landing right on his nose, breaking it. Blood was everywhere._

" _Whoops. Clumsy Doctor." The Master taunted. "Not to worry. Leave the driving to me."_

 _The Doctor was dimly aware of feeling rage but it was from somewhere inside a foggy tunnel. He struggled to surface, to fight against the darkness threatening to pull him under. The blows to the head were too much though. He lost consciousness._

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Present Day_

Savannah woke up filled with rage. That man. That horrible man had injured the Doctor so carelessly. He lay bleeding beneath the console, passed out, while the nasty man in black tiptoed through his blood and played with all the controls of the now hijacked TARDIS. She shook her head to clear it.

And that was when she realized. She sat up quickly.

It was the first dream she'd had about the Doctor that didn't involve Sienna. That wasn't from Sienna's perspective. She narrowed her eyes. What could this latest development mean?

Then she remembered _why_ she was having these crazy dreams in the first place.

She glanced down at her stomach. Only the slightest of bumps could be detected if she ran her hand over her lower abdomen. She hadn't taken an official pregnancy test but she had no doubt about the Doctor had told her. She was pregnant. With her ex boyfriend Evan's baby.

 _Fuck_. She rolled her eyes. It certainly explained a lot. The excessive sleeping, the crying, the nausea.

The Doctor had said it was a daughter. Savannah wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the matter of being a mother just now. A single mother at that.

But a daughter. Her eyes filled with tears and she smiled as she thought of rocking her little sister Ember when she was a baby. Savannah rubbed her belly. A baby girl.

And apparently not just any baby girl. The Doctor had said she would have the power of the Pythia, whatever the fuck that meant.

Savannah groaned and pulled herself carefully out of the bed. She was grateful to have grabbed another few hours of sleep. Her body and mind felt recharged. She was curious as to how the Doctor was coming along in finding Sienna.

She entered the corridor just as the two Silases converged on her door from separate directions. They all just stared at each other for a moment. Then they all started to talk at once.

Finally Savannah sighed and pointed toward the console room. "Shall we?"

 _Awkward._

They reached the console room just as the other Dayle and Jesse appeared to be leaving. The Doctor stood at the door with them first hugging Dayle, then shaking Jesse's hand. He looked troubled.

"Hey guys." Savannah greeted uncertainly. She had truly lost all sense of time but she could see that Jesse and the Dayle of this universe were completely exhausted. Dayle looked devastated. Savannah's heart went out to her. In all the craziness going on, the time travel and the telepathy and the aliens, it was easy to lose track of the seriousness of the situation. Dayle B undoubtedly feared that the daughter who she only recently got back in her life, could die.

Dayle B looked over at Savannah as they entered the console room, offered a sad smile. "Hi sweetheart. Jesse and I are going to spend some time at home with Gabe and get a bit of rest before you guys check back in with us."

Savannah walked over and placed an empathetic hand on the shoulder of her mother's counterpart. Seeing that face look so sad automatically brought tears to her eyes. That face that Savannah only ever wanted to see smiling.

"It will be okay." she told her firmly. "We are going to fix this. Go hug your baby boy. And me and these goof balls will go find your girl." Savannah looked into her blue gray eyes, her brow furrowed, hoping her words would reach her.

Dayle B took hold of Savannah's hand and squeezed it. "Your mother was so right about you." she told her affectionately. "You are so strong, always trying to mother everyone else." She chuckled and leaned forward, planted a kiss on Savannah's forehead. "Be careful babe. And keep these goof balls in line."

Savannah nodded, a half smile on her face.

The door closed after them and the Doctor finally turned his attention to the other three.

"Savannah, Lancelot, Friendzone." he greeted brusquely.

Lancelot tittered at Friendzone's new nickname.

"Have you managed to lock back on to the distress signal?" Savannah blurted.

The Doctor stepped over to the console and pulled the lever to put them back into the vortex.

"I do believe I have." he replied cautiously. "It's faint, but it's there." He flipped a couple switches and Savannah approached him.

"So, just had another dream... but. This one... it was different." Her brow was furrowed as she stared up at the Doctor.

He returned her gaze, curious. "How so?" he demanded.

Savannah noticed that both Silases had come over to listen. She cleared her throat.

"Every other dream has been from Sienna's perspective. But this one... it was from _his_ perspective. The other Doctor. Sienna wasn't present at all. It was about how he survived the explosion in that Maylim Solar System or whatever. The Master appeared in his TARDIS and froze time. He used some ray gun thing to paralyze the Doctor. Made him agree to allow him to operate his TARDIS or something. He promised to continue with the Doctor's anti time/black hole plan so long as he granted permission for the Master to have full access to his TARDIS..."

The Doctor's expression was a mixture of surprise and anger. "Did he now?"

Savannah shook her head. "It was terrible. Once he got what he wanted, he paralyzed him again. And the Doctor just _fell_ , cut his head on the controls. Broke his nose on the floor. That Master asshole just left him there bleeding." Savannah shivered, still disturbed by the bloody scene from her dream. "He's like pure evil or something."

The Doctor's eyebrows drew downward. He was clearly deep in thought and growing angrier by the second.

"So what do you think this means?" Friendzone Silas asked the Doctor, unconsciously placing a hand on Savannah's back, as if to ease her distress. It was actually rather nice. She noticed the other Silas notice this too. He didn't seem to share her appreciation of the gesture however. He rolled his eyes and began to crack his knuckles.

The Doctor blew out a breath. "Well, it would seem we've been asking the wrong question all this time. We've been so concerned with _how_ Savannah was able to receive the telepathic visions that we failed to consider exactly _who_ or _what_ has been facilitating the communications in the first place." He placed one hand on the console, squinted. "This is clearly about more than just Sienna's memory being wiped..."

"The TARDIS." Savannah uttered suddenly. She looked up at the three men and gestured like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. "It's _his_ TARDIS."

The two Silases shared a puzzled look. The Doctor crossed his arms, clearly waiting for further explanation.

Savannah pointed at him, excited. "The distress signal you've locked onto. That's _not_ the first distress signal she sent. It was the _dreams_. The dreams were the original distress signal, don't you see? And not just mine. Dayle's mom Lenore too."

The Doctor nodded, his face going from mystified to understanding.

"In the dream, the other Doctor spoke to his TARDIS telepathically." Savannah continued. "He told her to reach out in any way she could. To find his friends. That they needed a friend now more than ever."

The Doctor looked impressed, a smile breaking across his weathered face. "That's brilliant." He nodded his approval at Savannah. Scratched at his chin. "His TARDIS sent out a telepathic message to anyone she thought might be able to help. And she unwittingly tapped directly into the power of the Pythia among you ladies from both universes." The Doctor's eyebrows raised. "I suppose that was how the TARDIS learned about Sienna's connection to Karn. And in turn, how the Master came by the same information..."

"So... how does this help us?" Lancelot wondered, still not looking too pleased at his counterpart's proximity to Savannah. "More importantly, what does it tell us that we didn't already know?"

The Doctor drummed his fingers on the console and stared off into space. "It tells us that there's a high likelihood that the Doctor is still on board his TARDIS. And it tells us that the TARDIS is still fighting to help him. Which means she'll do whatever she can to help Sienna."

He looked at each of them. "It tells us we have a chance."


	15. Chapter 15

**_"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal,_**

 ** _love leaves a memory no one can steal."_**

 ** _-Irish Proverb_**

* * *

 _Sienna's Bedroom, Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS, Present Day_

Sienna wasn't sure how hard of a time she would have locating the Doctor in this infinite labyrinth but decided that she wouldn't get anything resolved sitting around reading. She took a deep breath and touched the wall where the hidden door had been. Nothing happened. It remained a wall.

She narrowed her eyes and made a sound of disgust. With her hands firmly planted on her hips she turned in circles where she stood, looking upward. "You must be fuckin with me, right?" She sounded indignant but on the inside she was afraid the Master had somehow managed to keep the TARDIS from helping her any further. Her heart began to race.

Then she felt that familiar hum and out of the corner of her eye, caught the flicker of a mirage as before. _"What?"_ she breathed incredulously, turning toward what she'd seen.

On a different wall on the other side of the bed, opposite the corridor, a door appeared once more, all wavy and insubstantial. There and gone as before.

She threw her hands up in surrender. "Alright. I give up." The sly heifer had created a door that didn't exist before on the other side of the damn room! Sienna shook her head and strode quickly toward it.

She tentatively reached out her fingertips and grazed the wall. The door solidified. She sighed in relief and turned the handle. On the other side was a dark hole in the wall just big enough for Sienna to crawl through. It looked like some type of maintenance tunnel.

She blinked. "I _know_ you don't think I'm going in there, do you?" she asked the TARDIS in disbelief. Now her heart was truly racing. Unbelievable. Sienna didn't fear much in this world. Off the top of her head, she came up with only tornadoes and the prospect of losing a loved one.

 _And the dark._

She stood frozen to the spot trying to decide how big of a chickenshit she actually was. The TARDIS hummed with a tone that Sienna would swear was impatience.

"I'm going, I'm going" she grumbled. She took a breath to steel herself and climbed into the hole. As soon as she was all the way in, perfect darkness encompassed her. The door she'd just come through disappeared along with any light from her bedroom.

She crawled along muttering curse words under her breath. She was thoroughly outraged that she found herself in this position... and scared out of her wits. But she figured if she concentrated on the outrage instead, she might be able to get through this without pissing her pants.

It was a damn good thing she couldn't add claustrophobia to her list of fears because the tunnel was tight. She crawled along for what felt like an eternity before she finally saw some light ahead. Her sigh of relief practically echoed.

She picked up her pace and found herself looking through a vent into a dark, stone floored room. She narrowed her eyes and thought to herself, _What happened to your fancy door trick, eh TARDIS?_ The tunnel hummed all around her briefly. Sienna figured one didn't have to speak transdimensional spaceship to understand _that_ reply. She chuckled quietly.

Sienna peered through the vent and almost really did pee herself. It was _him._ The Master. He was standing near a fancy marble column with his back toward her, but she was sure it was him. He appeared to be towering over someone but her vantage point wasn't the greatest. She peeked further down the tunnel and saw there was one more vent that looked down into this same room. She crawled as silently as possible over to it and peered down again.

She had to stop herself from audibly gasping. She had been right. It was the blonde Doctor! He really had been on board the hijacked TARDIS all along. He was leaning against the column looking like he'd been hit by a fuckin train. Her heart lurched in her chest. He wasn't moving. Was he...

Then she realized the Master was looking down and talking to him. She knew the dude was a bit unhinged but unless he was in the habit of talking to dead people, the Doctor must be alive. She stuck her ear to the vent but couldn't make out any words. He was speaking quietly and the stone room was cavernous and echoey so that any voices were drowned out. _Not helpful._

She squinted, trying to take in every detail that she could. The room was dimly lit and there were a few lit torches scattered about. It was like a cross between an opulent cathedral and a medieval castle. From the air drifting into the tunnel from the room, Sienna knew it was as cool as a cave. There was some ivy climbing the stone walls and ancient looking stone benches. There was a fountain and the room was full of ornate marble archways and columns. There was an ironbound wooden door directly across from her current location. The column the Doctor leaned against was about halfway between the vent and the door.

She did notice that the Doctor appeared to be talking now as well. Cool. He was at least well enough to talk. His face was a mess though, covered in blood. It seemed to be coming from both his nose (which looked positively smashed) and a cut on his forehead. His left arm was held a funny angle too. Jesus. This Master guy had fucked him up good. She felt a flash of intense anger. How she hated a bully.

The two Time Lords talked for just a few seconds longer, then she heard the now familiar smug chuckle and the Master headed out the wooden door. Sienna suddenly found herself feeling lucky to be in the dark tunnel. It was a damn good thing the TARDIS hadn't taken her to the door. She would've been caught just then. The TARDIS hummed again. Probably saying _I told you so_.

She waited to make sure the Master wasn't coming back right away, then called through the vent in a loud whisper.

"Doctor! Doctor, can you hear me?"

The Doctor didn't turn his head toward the source of the voice but she saw his eyes shoot up toward her. It was like, he _couldn't_ move. Sienna shivered at the thought.

"Who's there?" he asked, his voice much stronger than she'd expect from looking at him.

"Doctor, it's..." she suddenly realized something quite heavy that she hadn't really considered until this very moment. This guy might have some serious feelings for her. And despite the fact it appeared they'd had an entire relationship and even seen each other naked, she couldn't even remember having met him. She sighed heavily. It was definitely one of those days. "It's me. It's Sienna."

"Are you in the _service shaft_?"

Sienna blinked. He didn't sound the least bit surprised that it was her. Or even particularly _pleased_ to hear from her. Instead he sounded amused. She narrowed her eyes. _Seriously?_

She cleared her throat. "Uh yeah. The TARDIS opened a door from the bedroom into this tunnel. It brought me right to... to wherever you are."

She could see he was smiling now. It was a charming smile despite all the blood. "I am currently being held prisoner in the Cloister Room." He sounded almost cheerful. "A doorway to the service tunnel, eh? That was quite clever of the Old Girl, wasn't it?" His eyes looked all around the room, his smile appreciative.

Sienna's eyes narrowed even more. "Look, if you need a minute alone together, I can come back later..." She was surprised to hear she sounded a bit jealous. She facepalmed. This whole situation was just ridiculous.

The Doctor chuckled. "Don't worry Sienna. You must have been quite clever as well to have found me."

Something in the way he said her name went right to her core. She felt something flutter in her stomach. She shook off the feeling. "Alright, I don't need a round of applause. What I need to do is figure out how to get you out of there. Can you... stand up?" She wondered, fearful of what his answer might be.

He sighed. For the first time his voice sounded troubled. "No. I cannot stand up. I can't move at all. The Master has fashioned himself some sort of molecular nerve block weapon. I'm... I'm rather afraid I'm currently paralyzed. From the neck down."

 _Dammit._ Sienna tried not to sound as defeated as she felt. "I was afraid you were going to say that. I noticed you weren't moving." She blew out a sigh. "What about that door? How do I get to it."

He laughed humorlessly. "That won't be of much use either. It's deadlock sealed. Even the TARDIS can't spring the lock on _that_ door. And she can't do the appearing door trick because the cloister room is constructed quite differently than every other room in the TARDIS. It's sort of, the heart of the TARDIS. Its where a great deal of her power comes from."

Sienna sat down heavily in the tunnel and leaned back against the vent, covered her face with her hands. _Fuck fuck fuck._ She was beginning to think she would have been just as much use reading Dean Koontz back in the bedroom. She remained silent, not wanting to voice her negativity. It wouldn't do the Doctor any good.

"Brave heart Sienna." His voice now gentler. "I know things look quite hopeless at the moment. I know you are afraid and you think there is no way out of this. _But..._ the TARDIS has brought us this far. We just have to trust in her. And stay sharp."

She turned and peered down through the vent again. They made eye contact. He smiled. The fluttering again. Butterflies. She quickly looked away.

Okay. So he was cute. And charming. Big fuckin deal. That didn't mean she could just go _right back_ to having feelings for him. She couldn't remember getting to know him. She couldn't remember the first time he touched her or kissed her. This whole situation was beyond bizarre.

"Alright." She said after a moment. "All we need to do is figure out a way to open an un-openable door and cure paralysis. Does that about sum it up?" she asked, sounding calm.

He laughed for real now. "And here I thought the odds were insurmountable."

She smirked. "You're such a pessimist."

* * *

 _Cloister Room, Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS, Present Day_

The sound of Sienna's voice coming from somewhere above him was music to the Doctor's ears. He never thought he'd hear it again. Saying his name like that. It went directly to his hearts.

He'd managed to remain unemotional though. He knew the TARDIS had been working on communicating some things to her, to make her more aware of the situation, but he knew she couldn't actually remember him. Or the love they'd had for each other.

It was so good to have her here though, despite everything. He had been starting to lose hope himself. Now he felt ready to take on anything. Even her sarcasm was precious to him.

"Alright. All we need to do is figure out a way to open an un-openable door and cure paralysis. Does that about sum it up?" Her voice was unnaturally calm. It was so like her.

Laughing felt so good. "And here I thought the odds were insurmountable."

"You're such a pessimist." she accused.

He sighed. "Let me check in with the TARDIS to see if she can tell us anything new." He suggested. The Master had chosen the Cloister Room as his prison knowing the TARDIS couldn't spring the door or help him in any physical way. The one drawback to that decision (at least for the Master) was that the Doctor had direct access to some very special telepathic circuitry. He closed his eyes and attempted to connect.

"Doctor, why are the lights in the room flickering?" Sienna sounded anxious.

"Shh. It happens. Don't worry." he scolded impatiently.

He felt his mind tune into the TARDIS. His first impression was that she wasn't happy. This wasn't exactly a revelation. She hadn't been pleased since the Master had taken over as captain. She was limited to what she could do to help the situation but she had managed to subvert the Master here and there. What the Doctor needed to find out was if she had any more tricks up her sleeve. Especially now that he had Sienna nearby to help.

The TARDIS put a picture in his mind. One he didn't fully understand at first. He frowned. Sienna locked in the room with him.

 _How could that possibly help? If she comes into this room and I can't even move? And we can't get the door open anyhow!_

The TARDIS put an image of the vent in his mind. He considered the size of it. Roughly square, possibly big enough for an individual to squeeze through.

 _So, she comes into the room and then what? She waits around until I regenerate? I don't believe the Master will leave us alone that long..._

The TARDIS put a voice in his mind. Just a tidbit of what Sienna had said when she was being sarcastic just a moment before. _"...cure paralysis"._ The Doctor nearly broke the connection.

 _You don't mean...?_

A slideshow of memories played through the Doctor's mind, obviously prompted by the TARDIS. Memories of each time he'd seen Sienna heal someone with her touch. But could she actually _heal_ paralysis?

This time the TARDIS didn't bother with his mind. She hummed loudly. She sure _sounded_ certain. The Doctor opened his eyes still feeling doubtful.

"Well...?" Sienna demanded. "Anything of use?"

The Doctor pressed his lips together. "The TARDIS has an idea, but... I feel it may be too big of a risk." Another loud hum.

"Uh oh. I think you pissed her off." Sienna chuckled. "Tell me the idea."

He sighed and his eyes went ceilingward. "You kick the mesh grate out of the vent and hop down into the room..." he began.

"Uhh... already hating the sound of this plan." Sienna scoffed. "And then what? Drag your lifeless body back _up_ through the vent? Seems legit." She made a derisive sound.

"And then... you heal me." he said quietly. "And I get us both out of here."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Sienna protested. "Pump your brakes blondie. Who says I can fucking heal paralysis?" She sounded incredulous. And a bit terrified.

"The TARDIS does." he told her matter-of-factly. He sighed. "But... as I said, it may be-"

Sienna was already kicking with all her strength at the vent. He blinked in surprise. "Sienna... maybe we should..."

She gave one more good kick that sent the vent panel clattering to the stone floor of the Cloister Room. "Hey, what was it you said a minute ago? We have to trust in the TARDIS, right?"

His eyebrows raised. "I did say that, didn't I?"

She climbed down feet first and hung from the edge of the vent. She only had about a meter to fall from there. She landed on her feet, the impact of her combat boots kicking up a cloud of dust.

She sighed in relief when she realized she'd done it. He couldn't help but smile at her daring. Brave heart indeed.

She walked over to him, her expression quizzical. She knelt down beside him and looked him over. "So, I just do my normal thing and it's just supposed to... make you walk again?" She sounded skeptical but also curious.

Her nearness made his pulse race. Even in these circumstances. Yes, he certainly had it bad for her. He only hoped she wouldn't notice. No sense in unnerving her.

"Let's start with the easy stuff first." she murmured. "Close your eyes Doctor."

He did as he was told and felt Sienna's gentle touch. The fingertips of one hand went to his face, the other hand settled onto his left shoulder.

Within moments he felt a curious sensation. An indescribable taking away of pain. He could feel the stinging, the aching, the injury itself being drawn out somehow.

She exhaled and lost her balance. He opened his eyes as she started to fall backwards. She just managed to catch herself. He still couldn't move so he couldn't grab her or help her back up. Healing always took it out of her a bit. The worse the injury, the worse the consequences were for her. That was what concerned him most about her trying to heal the paralysis.

"Hey." she gasped sitting up straight again. She looked disoriented but definitely pleased with herself. "Looking _much_ better there Mister. If a little bloody." She grinned at him like she liked what she saw and he couldn't help but grin back.

She stretched a bit. Took a breath like she was trying to steel herself.

"Sienna..." he began, suddenly very concerned. "Maybe you should give it just a moment. Give yourself time to recuperate."

She rolled her eyes at him. "And give the Master time to come back in and check on you? Not happening dude. Let's do this." She looked determined and he knew that look. He wasn't going to be able to talk her out of it.

He sighed. "Just promise that if you feel that it's too much, you'll stop."

"Yeah yeah." She humored him. "Close your eyes sir."

He obliged. Nothing happened for a moment and then he heard her giggle. His eyes flew back open and he gazed at her curiously.

"I just realized... I have no idea where to put my hands for this one." She raised an eyebrow and offered a suggestive smile.

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "I should think somewhere along the spine." he told her through clenched teeth. Seeing as how she didn't even _know_ him, he couldn't help but wonder if she flirted with all men this way. He had to fight back the jealousy that was threatening to materialize. Definitely his least favorite part of romantic love.

She was looking at him like she wondered why he was suddenly aggravated. Then she shrugged. "Eyes closed." She commanded.

He was surprised when he felt her practically climb into his lap and place his arms around her. Then she encircled him in her arms, her fingertips settling on his spine.

His hearts started to hammer in his chest. He found it hard to breathe normally. He could feel the nearness of her face to his. He could feel her warm breath on his cheek. He realized her breathing was a bit irregular as well.

"I figure if this works, you might need to catch me." She explained softly. "The human skull versus a stone floor isn't really much of a contest." Her voice shook ever so slightly. The Doctor supposed she was nervous about what she was about to try.

He heard her start to inhale, and as she did, he felt a peculiar tingling sensation along all his nerve endings. _Would this really work?_

It was as if venom was being sucked from a snake bite. He could actually _feel_ the damaging influence drain away. His foot twitched. He'd moved!

He felt Sienna shudder, her breathing becoming labored. She groaned and he could tell it was taking effort for her to hold herself upright. She wasn't strong enough for this.

 _No way. She needed to stop immediately._

And just as he was about to tell her just that, he felt the floor of the Cloister Room tremble ever so slightly. He perceived through his eyelids that the lights were flickering. He sensed an electrical disturbance all around them. And then suddenly, he felt an intense thrumming pervade the both of them. It was like a power surge. Like the TARDIS was lending Sienna some of her own strength.

Sienna's breathing went back to practically normal and she seemed to regain her balance. He felt his fingertips rub against her back. He gasped. His hand moved up and he touched her long brown hair.

Then she exhaled and started to cough violently. He opened his eyes in time to see her eyes roll back into her head. She started to fall backwards.

But she was already in his arms. He tightened them around her, relieved that he could move again but very worried for her.

"Sienna." he whispered. He shook her. "Sienna, are you alright?"

Her eyelids fluttered open and after just a second, her big brown eyes focused on his face. She looked grouchy. Her voice was slightly weak but clearly annoyed. "Would you please tell your stupid ship to quit stealing my thunder?" she requested. She let her eyelids fall closed once more.

He laughed and squeezed her tightly.


	16. Chapter 16

**_"Time is the longest distance between two places."_**

 ** _-Tennessee Williiams (from The Glass Menagerie)_**

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Present Day_

The Doctor seemed confident that he had a good lock on the location of the hijacked TARDIS. The distress signal had actually gotten stronger, he told them.

He stood at the console, his expression unreadable. Well unreadable unless one were to assume he was angry based solely on his eyebrows. Savannah had to stifle a giggle.

She was surprised to find herself starting to warm to the gruff alien. He could be blunt but even when he was unkind, it didn't seem particularly intentional.

She, Lancelot and Friendzone were all silent, in their own thoughts. She was amused to realize that she now thought of them by their nicknames like it were the most natural thing in the world. When the Doctor made his final navigational adjustments, he demanded they each sit down in one of the jumpseats and buckle up.

"Once the Master realizes we're in pursuit, there's no telling what he might do." he commented grimly. He pulled down on a lever and Savannah and both Silases looked at one another.

"Uh, Doctor. What exactly is the plan here?" Lancelot wondered, his eyes narrowed. "What happens when we actually _find_ this other TARDIS?"

"Yeah." Friendzone chimed in, an identical look of suspicious skepticism on his face. "How the hell do we get Sienna out of there?"

The Doctor glanced back at them, then returned his attention to the control panel. "I'll do a thing." he informed them, sounding offended that they were questioning him.

Savannah sat forward in her seat, anxiety coursing through her. "Dude. You're gonna have to do better than that. How about a little reassurance here. I'm about to be somebody's mother. At least _pretend_ you have a plan."

She realized that the Silas from her universe was looking at her strangely. _Oops._ She hadn't had the chance to tell him about that whole 'new human ' thing. He'd entirely missed that revelation.

She cleared her throat. "Sooo..." she began casually, not looking at him. "Turns out I'm pregnant. By the way." her eyes cut over to him to take in his reaction.

His eyebrows went up. "When and how did you find _that_ out?" Savannah couldn't help but feel a bit judged by his tone and it hurt her feelings.

She crossed her arms, and as was her standard protocol, she deflected with sarcasm. "Oh, you know. Like most women, I was informed by a time traveling alien after _he'd_ been informed by the head of some red robed space cult. Who I happen to be related to, by the way." When he didn't say anything to that, she added. "Also, it's a girl. And she's telepathic. Because of course she is."

She saw out of the corner of her eye that Friendzone was looking over at her, thoroughly amused by her outburst. She gave him a little half smile in return. Lancelot remained quiet. He still looked blown away by the news. She supposed he hadn't exactly anticipated dating a pregnant chick.

Well, she hadn't exactly anticipated finding out that she came from a bloodline of telepathic aliens or that her mother had been secretly having an affair with some Time Lord called the Doctor.

 _Join the club Lancelot_.

And then all of a sudden, the sound of a bell tolling could be heard from somewhere deep in the TARDIS. Her hands clutched at the arms of her chair and her eyes went to the Doctor who seemed to have froze at the sound.

"What the hell was that?" Savannah worried.

The bell sounded again ominously. The Doctor turned in circles looking all around the console room, clearly distressed. "What is it Old Girl?" he implored of his ship.

"Doctor...!?" Savannah insisted.

"That... is the Cloister Bell." the Doctor explained cryptically.

 _Bong._

"What's it _mean?"_ Friendzone Silas demanded.

The Doctor pulled down his computer monitor and pressed a few keys on the console. "It means..." he muttered, "that something very _not_ good is about to happen."

They all jumped when some type of siren began to sound shrilly. And the engines began to make a curious stuttering sound.

The Doctor punched another key and consulted the screen. _"Impact in eight seconds?"_ Now, for the first time, he sounded truly afraid.

"Impact!" The Doctor's evident fear alarmed Savannah more than anything that had happened so far. "Impact with _what?_ "

"Yeah, aren't we in that time vortex thingee you'd told us about?" Lancelot wondered, echoing Savannah's fears.

The Doctor turned toward them, he was shaking his head in disbelief. "The Master." he explained, eyes wide. "He means to Time Ram us."

" _Time Ram?_ " Savannah and both Silases questioned in unison.

" _Hold on!"_ The Doctor shouted and dove to the floor, wrapping his arms around the low metal railing beneath the console.

The impact started out as a violent jolt but then it was as if everything was in slow motion. Literally. And all sound seemed to have been sucked from the room. No more tolling cloister bell, no more stuttering engines, no more warning siren.

Savannah blinked in wonder as she saw sparks shower down from the center rotor leisurely. Then the entire TARDIS seemed to turn on end but ever so slowly. The Doctor lost his grip on the railing and was thrown unhurriedly to one end of the room, as if floating under water. The lights in the TARDIS flickered like a strobe light as the TARDIS being to roll end over end, still in slow motion. Time ceased to exist. It all happened in an instant, yet lasted forever.

It was like being in some terrifying carnival fun house. Savannah couldn't tell which end was up. After a few seconds, or perhaps an eternity, she just closed her eyes and waited for it to be over. In those final moments, all she could thing of was her mom and Ember. They would never know exactly what happened to her.

And then instantaneously, it was like time returned to normal and the motion of the TARDIS took on the proper violent shaking and shuddering of a crashing vehicle. Sound returned as well. The warning siren was there, the cloister bell, the engine whining, and another buzzing alarm somewhere on the control panel. They were flipping and falling and she was screaming. She put her head down and covered it with her arms.

And then all at once, stillness, silence. She lifted her head, confused. It reminded her of the scene in The Wizard of Oz movie, when Dorothy's house landed in Oz. She had just been inside the tornado, the wind howling, the house spinning and jostling her about. And then she landed and everything just stopped. "Oh." was all Dorothy could say in response. Savannah could relate.

Light in the TARDIS was practically nonexistent. She looked around her and realized she couldn't see anything beyond a couple feet in front of her face. The room was beginning to fill with smoke and she discovered the only light was being cast by flames shooting up out of the console. _Holy shit!_

Suddenly though, some type of fire extinguisher system activated all on its own and the flames were put out. Which left her in total darkness once more. And silence. She began to unbuckle herself with shaking hands just as some automatic ventilation system began to sweep the smoke from the room.

" _Guys!?_ " she shouted, terrified.

"Savannah! You okay?" she couldn't tell which Silas that was but she was so happy to hear another voice in the perfect darkness, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm good... I think." She pulled her phone out of her pocket to use as a flashlight and looked herself over. She was surprised to find she was completely uninjured. But... _the Doctor._

"Oh no." she whispered, remembering that he hadn't been buckled down to a seat like the rest of them. She climbed to her feet and swung the light on her phone all around. She could see two more lights come on as the two Silases followed suit.

"Doctor?" she called, her anxiety growing by the moment.

" _Here!_ " she heard one of the Silases shout. She made her way carefully toward the voice.

The lights of all three phones revealed the Doctor's prone form laying in a heap against one wall. He wasn't moving. She saw Silas (Lancelot judging from the lack of stocking cap) kneel down beside him and turn him over.

Suddenly, some dim backup lights came on in the TARDIS, illuminating their predicament in harsh detail.

Savannah gasped. The Doctor was terribly injured. He actually looked dead.

"I-i-is there a pulse?" Savannah demanded, her voice unnaturally shrill and shaking terribly. She had reached them and knelt down beside Lancelot. Friendzone suddenly appeared on her other side and without a word, took hold of her hand.

"I'm not sure." the Silas of her universe replied softly, his fingers feeling around one of the Doctor's wrists. Savannah could see the sleeve of the Doctor's black jacket was torn and there was blood on his hand.

"Get out of the way!" she commanded harshly. She handed her phone to the other Silas. She had taken many first aid and CPR classes over the years. Her mother, being a nurse, always emphasized to her the importance of knowing the basics.

Silas moved back and she took his place hovering over the badly injured Time Lord. She palpated his neck, looking for the carotid. Her fingertips immediately found a faint- but definitely there- pulse. She exhaled heavily.

"He's alive. But barely." she informed the other two, her mouth set in a grim line. "We have to get him help."

"But... we don't even know where the fuck we are!" Lancelot's voice sounded a bit shrill as well at this point.

They all jumped when one of their cell phones went _blip blip._

Savannah's eyes narrowed. Sounded like her text message alert.

"It's you." Friendzone handed her phone back, sounding distracted.

She wiped a bloody hand on her tshirt and turned her phone over to look at it. She saw there were about a dozen unread messages and twice as many missed calls.

 _What the fuck?_ Why all of a sudden was her phone operating properly again? She had lost her carrier signal (understandably so) when they'd crossed to the other universe.

She opened the texts. All from her mom.

 _Vannah, where the hell are you?_

 _Has the Doctor contacted you?_

 _Please just let me know you're okay._

The texts continued much in the same vein, growing increasingly more concerned. It was then that Savannah noticed the dates of the messages. They were over three days. Her eyes narrowed once more. She didn't understand a lot about time travel, but she sure didn't like the idea that three days had passed with her mom worrying about her. It seemed to indicate that Savannah had not returned at the time she'd left. Her head was spinning. What the hell was happening?

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's Wrecked TARDIS, Present Day_

"Alright well, I can't get any of this equipment to work." Silas sighed after trying all the buttons and switches on the burned out console. "I think we need to chance trying the door."

"Yeah. I think you're right." said a voice identical to his own. Silas glanced around and saw Lancelot was standing near the door. He sounded resentful that he agreed with his counterpart on anything.

Silas glanced back at Savannah kneeling over the Doctor. She was looking at her phone, like she didn't understand what she was seeing. She still had one hand on the Doctor's shoulder. An unconscious, protective gesture.

Silas frowned. The Doctor looked pretty bad off. They needed to do something and fast.

He made his way over to the door where Lancelot stood. They looked at each other nervously, then he placed his hand on the door. His tentative touch alone caused it to fly open.

Fortunately, they weren't greeted by a swirling vortex or alien landscape. It appeared to be earth, at night. He took a step out. Blinked in surprise. Their surroundings were all too familiar.

"Wait... isn't this...?" Lancelot began.

Savannah had popped up behind them. "It's the parking lot behind the library."

"It's exactly where we met the Doctor." Lancelot pointed out.

Savannah had her hand to her head, glancing around the empty parking lot. She looked pale and unsteady on her feet. "But... does this mean we are back in _our_ universe?"

As if in response, the ringtone on her cell sounded. Savannah answered it on the first ring, placed her phone on speaker. "Hello?" she shouted.

" _Vannah!?_ Oh Christ. You're okay!" Silas instantly recognized the sound of Dayle's voice. She sounded beyond relieved

"Mom..." Savannah began, then broke down sobbing.

Silas rushed over to her, put an arm around her. "Hey...you alright?" he asked.

She indicated her phone."It's my mom. Silas... I think we've left your universe." she managed through her tears. "I think we're back in mine."

He heard the other Silas suddenly from behind them. "Yeah. I would say so. Look. My truck, right where I parked it. And isn't that your car?"

" _Vannah? SAVANNAH!?"_ He realized her mom was still waiting for an explanation on the phone and it sounded like her patience was running out. Savannah looked frozen, unable to even speak. He sighed and took the phone from her hand gently.

Lancelot walked back over to them, looking lost. He didn't even check to see if Savannah was okay, despite the fact that she was a total wreck. He actually looked a little like he was considering jumping in his truck and not looking back.

Some knight in shining armor he'd turned out to be. Silas rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the phone.

"Uh...Dayle? Hi." he said into the phone, realizing that he was talking to someone he didn't know at all, yet kind of knew very well. Surreal didn't even begin to cover it.

"Who is _this_?" she sounded angry. Hmm. Clearly the Dayle in this universe didn't know the other him well enough to recognize his voice.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, this is Sienna's friend, er... _Savannah's_ friend Silas. But, like, the other Silas. From the other universe." This wasn't going well.

"Is Savannah okay?" Dayle shouted, not even questioning his bizarre words. Silas supposed she was familiar with bizarre.

"Yes yes. She's good." Silas rushed to reassure her. "A little shaken up. See... there's kinda been an accident." He glanced over at the TARDIS. From the outside, the damage wasn't apparent. Other than the black smoke pouring out of the open door.

"What kind of accident? Where are you guys?" Savannah's mother demanded.

Savannah stepped back to stand beside him. She seemed to have pulled herself together enough to insert herself back into the conversation. "Mom, we're at the library. In the parking lot. You need to come quickly. It's the Doctor." She took a deep breath and met his eyes. "I think he's dying."


	17. Chapter 17

**_Strax: The heart is a relatively simple thing._**

 ** _Madame Vastra: I have not found it to be so._**

 ** _(from The Name of the Doctor)_**

* * *

 _Cloister Room, Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS_

After her fancy healing trick, things got a bit fuzzy for Sienna. The Doctor intended to trap the Master in the very room in which he'd been imprisoned for days. On how exactly, Sienna wasn't too clear. She was in and out of consciousness as the Doctor worked on setting up some type of decoy. He assured her he would explain later.

Her strength returned slowly but with a lot of help from the Doctor, she managed to get back up into the service tunnel. He'd handed her the vent panel so they could set it back in its place and climbed up right behind her.

They huddled in the dimness sharing an uncomfortable silence. The Doctor replaced the vent's grating while Sienna leaned back against the side of the tunnel awaiting further instruction. Then, they just sort of sat there avoiding looking at one another.

 _Painfully fucking awkward_ , Sienna thought to herself.

After a time, the Doctor cleared his throat. "Yes, well. I think we had better make our way to the Zero Room." He was obviously going for casual but something in his voice sounded off.

Sienna sighed. Bad enough their lives hung in precarious balance at the whim of a madman, she could definitely do without this clumsy dynamic. "Which way?" she muttered.

The Doctor sat for just a moment longer, looking like he wanted to say something but ultimately deciding against it. Instead he gestured in the direction opposite of the way she'd come from before. "After you." he offered, sounding overly polite.

If she wasn't about to gag from his saccharine insincerity, she might've objected to going first into the darkness. As it was, she found having his company at least made the inky blackness of the tunnel slightly more bearable. After they'd crawled unspeaking for a while, Sienna got tired of the silence.

"What's the Zero Room and why there?" she asked, managing to sound normal. Thank god for small favors.

From behind her, it sounded as if the Doctor was grateful to be in explaining mode. He perked up a bit. "Ah. The Zero Room. Every TARDIS has one. It's a sort of restorative space for Time Lords. It is tranquil and has healing properties. Technically it's not so much a room as an entirely separate pocket universe within the TARDIS in which one is cut off from all outside influences. It's the only place on the TARDIS we are certain to remain undetected until the Master falls into my trap."

Sounded promising at least. She was definitely starting to think she stood a good chance of making it back home alive. As they continued along she realized her own curiosity had put her in this predicament. Her need to know about her stolen memories.

And suddenly, she felt anger course through her at the thought. This guy right behind her was the one responsible for her memory loss. For whatever reason, he had made the other Doctor promise he would wipe her memory. Had taken away her decision on the matter. Like she was a child who couldn't be trusted with the choice. Rather fucking insulting actually. Her blood was practically boiling the more she thought about it.

"So, Doctor." she began, her voice tight. "You know me, right?"

The Doctor stopped crawling forward and she followed suit. "Well, yes of course." He sounded confused.

"Well, it's just that, it's crazy because I can't remember meeting you." She decided to play it a bit ignorant for the moment.

He didn't reply. She could hear him shifting around though, as if he were fidgeting. Clearly, he had not expected _that._

She went on like she didn't notice. "I mean, I met the other Doctor the night after I got out of rehab. And it was strange because he acted like we'd met before when I knew we never had." She forced a little laugh. "It's almost like I was made to forget something significant that had happened involving the two of you."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Sienna..." he began.

Sienna fully intended on letting him trip all over himself trying to explain and justify what he'd done but found she couldn't keep her peace any longer.

"How fucking _dare_ you." she interjected. "How dare you decide you had the right to screw with my memory the way you did. The way the _both_ of you did." She knew she was getting loud but for the life of her, she didn't care.

"Sienna." he said again, his voice now sounding condescending and disapproving. "You need to lower your voice and calm down. There's a time and a place. We can discuss this later."

She felt her eyes narrow. _Was this motherfucker for real?_

She now turned around to face toward him despite the fact she couldn't physically see him.

"Have you met many humans?" she asked him incredulously.

"Well, of course I have." He sounded self righteous about it. "Some of my best friends have been human."

"Of all the humans you've known, have you known a single one who _ever_ calmed down when they were upset because you fucking told them to calm down? The answer to that of course is no, you haven't. Because in the history of forever, that has worked exactly _zero_ fucking times." She was really on a roll now, in full fight mode.

His tone finally went from arrogant and self righteous to straight up pissed off. "I was only pointing out that we are in a dangerous set of circumstances and we should probably at least get to the Zero Room before we start acting out this little morality play you seem dead set on. Your timing leaves a lot to be desired."

Sienna had to physically keep herself from bitch slapping him. "Oh that's right. I should let you be the judge of time. Because you're the great Time Lord after all, aren't you?"

"Exactly!" he agreed coldly. "And I say it's high _time_ we get moving again."

"Well Doctor, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but for a Time Lord, _your_ timing fucking sucks." she turned and started to crawl forward again. He followed suit and she continued her angry tirade. "Seriously? You came into my life when I was at my weakest and lowest point and you found it appropriate to play doctor with me. Seems a little opportunistic to be honest."

Her words definitely hit their target. He gasped. "Sienna," he whispered. "What do you remember?"

" _That's just it_! I don't remember a goddamn thing! You made sure of that, didn't you? It's just that the TARDIS shared a few, um, _moments_ the two of us had together. So I am fully aware of the fact that we've seen each other naked. And yet, only one of us remembers all of it. Seems perfectly balanced."

They crawled in silence for several minutes. Hers was angry silence, his probably guilty. She sighed. She realized that winning this particular argument wasn't much fun at all. She had made him feel like total shit. Mission accomplished. What good did it do her?

After a while he said quietly. "Up ahead on the left. There's a panel that leads to the Zero Room. There won't be much light. It isn't a vent."

She paid careful attention to her left and saw the line of light around the panel when they reached it. She stopped and moved aside to let the Doctor remove it.

Once again she hopped down through the opening in the tunnel to the room below. She shook off his hands when he tried to help her and tried to ignore the stab of guilt she felt at the hurt she saw in his eyes.

The Doctor joined her and managed to put the panel back in place successfully.

Sienna took in her surroundings. They were standing in a square room that had a pinkish hue to it and smelled faintly of roses. It was completely empty.

"Now I see why it's called the Zero Room." she murmured. "Zero fucking furniture."

She went and sat on the floor against one wall, crossed her arms. The Doctor sat against the same wall, just at the other end of the room. It wasn't long before she realized she was beginning to calm down and had a feeling the room itself had something to do with her state of mind. The Doctor was right. The place was unbelievably tranquil. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, relaxing for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Thank you by the way." The Doctor said softly after a moment. "Thank you for rescuing me." He wouldn't look at her, she noticed. It appeared that while the room had calmed him down too, he still felt guilty about everything.

Sienna sighed. "You're welcome of course. Besides, I assume you're about to save my ass in return." She looked down at her feet feeling conflicted. Yeah, she had every right to be mad. _But._ She was being terribly hard on him and she hadn't even heard his side of the story.

He adjusted the lapels of his blood stained coat and pressed his lips together. "Sienna, I-"

"Hey." she interrupted, looking over at him. "Why don't we just leave all that past shit alone for now? I shouldn't have said what I said, okay?"

He rubbed one hand down his face and shook his head. "Please." he began softly. "Please just let me say this to you and then we won't discuss it again until I get us out of this mess."

She nodded her agreement, curious.

"I wanted to wipe your memory to protect you, certain you would never see me again. I was meant to be dead Sienna. I was headed off on a mission that I knew would kill me and I didn't want you left hurt. It seemed...unnecessary." He shrugged and gave a humorless laugh. "I just didn't want to be something that made your life harder in the end." He looked down at his hands and went silent.

Sienna was stunned. She wasn't sure what she'd expected but it hadn't been that. Before she could reply, he continued.

"And you don't remember the circumstances of our falling in love, but I assure you, becoming involved was not a decision I came to lightly." He looked back up then and met her eyes. "It actually wasn't a decision at all. As you once wisely told me, you don't get to choose who you fall in love with. It chooses you." He smiled a sad smile and then looked away again.

She was speechless.

 _In love. He said they'd been in love._

For her, this was the most troubling news of all. She shook her head, trying to grasp what this meant for her.

 _How do you fall in love with someone and then just forget about it? How is that possible? Where did all those feelings go?_

Her brow must have been furrowed as she considered the implications because the Doctor became concerned.

"Sienna. What's the matter?"

She shook herself a bit and gave him a little half smile. "It's nothing. So why don't you tell me about all this Karn business and just what the hell Pythia is."

* * *

 _Zero Room, Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS_

Sienna listened raptly as he told her the history of the Sisterhood, how their faction broke off from Gallifrey and about the powers of the Pythia. It was a good distraction. He was still feeling terrible about all those things she'd said to him.

 _Does she actually believe I took advantage of her?_

When he was through talking she looked puzzled. "But what does all that have to do with me?" she wondered. "Why would _my_ family have any of those powers?"

The Doctor sighed. "Sienna, I only just learned this myself, but apparently your great grandmother came from Karn."

Sienna blinked. "So you're saying I'm part alien? That's what you're actually telling me right now?"

He raised his eyebrows, feeling slightly amused. "So it would seem."

"So what the _hell_ does the Master hope to gain from me? It's pretty obvious he thinks I have some value to them. So the real question is, what do _they_ have that _he_ wants?" She peered at him curiously.

He nodded. "It's an excellent question and one I'm afraid I don't have the answer for. _Yet._ "

They both sat quietly for a moment. "So." he asked her, feeling uncertain. "How have you been? And for that matter, how long has it been since... since that night you met the other Doctor?"

She looked surprised by the question. "Oh... well. It's been a little over six months since then and since...well... you I guess." She laughed self consciously. "I've been clean for over six months. So that's something. I have a good job at the library. An awesome relationship with Dayle and her little family." She shrugged. "Life's just... good. You know?"

The Doctor was heartened to hear this news. "I'm very glad for you." he said softly. "Six months sober. My goodness. How proud everyone must be of you." He was gazing at her with admiration. He saw her blush and he chuckled. Her humility was just another thing he loved about her.

She looked curious. "What about you?" she asked him.

His eyes narrowed in confusion. "What about me what?"

"How long has it been? For you. Since... well, me." She looked down at her hands.

He smiled. Time. It was all so relative. "For me it has been exactly two days, seven hours and twenty four minutes since I last saw you." The memory sobered him. That horrendous scene in the other Doctor's control room. "Since I said good bye to you." he added quietly.

She looked absolutely stunned. "It's only been _two days_ for you?" she whispered, incredulous.

"Yes, well. As you said. Best to leave the past alone, right?" He smiled, feeling grateful that he'd maintained his composure. Whatever happened, he needed to keep his head together. He had every reason to believe that Sienna would never feel the same way again about him. And the biggest joke of all, was that it was his own fault.

"Right, sure." Sienna agreed quickly. "I didn't mean to...I just..." She sighed and closed her eyes. "Why don't you just tell me about the trap you set in the Cloister Room."

"Well you see... the one thing the TARDIS _can_ do in the Cloister Room is project an image of her operator as a defense mechanism. When the Master goes back to check on me, he will see me as I was before, leaning against the column, all injured and paralyzed." His eyes narrowed. "And upon entering the room he will be caught in a time loop. The ultimate cage. No locked door necessary, no rope or chains. He will simply be stuck in a replay of his actions, entering and reentering the room until I put a stop to it."

Sienna raised her eyebrows, looking impressed. "Not bad."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Well, don't sound so surprised. I do have my moments."

She chuckled too. "And how am _I_ supposed to know that? You are sort of starting from scratch with impressing me after all."

She was beautiful even when she was being a brat. He smirked. "Fair enough."

Suddenly he felt something inside his head, just a twinge. He jumped to his feet. The TARDIS was trying to tell him something but they were cut off from all her usual warning systems. He hesitated for only a moment before walking over to the door that led into the corridor and swinging it open.

"Doctor!" Sienna shouted, scrambling to her feet. "What the hell are you doing? I thought we were flyin under the radar here."

The sound of the Cloister Bell could be heard faintly from the corridors.

"Oh no." he murmured, his hearts starting to race despite the calming atmosphere of the Zero Room.

 _What was the Master up to?_

No longer concerned about being found out (at least for the moment) he walked out into the corridor and closed his eyes, attempting to connect once more with the TARDIS.

 _What's happening Old Girl. What has he done?_

And then it came to him.

His eyes flew open in alarm and he backed into the Zero Room, shutting the door behind him.

"Doctor what's the matter?" Sienna had grown about as anxious as was possible in the Zero Room's tranquility.

"The other Doctor..." he began grimly. "He managed to lock on to our location, was on his way to help. The Master caught on and he means to Time Ram him using _my_ TARDIS."

Sienna blinked. "What is a time ram? What does this mean exactly?"

He put his hands to his face knowing there wasn't anything he could do. And that staying put in the Zero Room was the best chance he and Sienna stood of avoiding injury to themselves.

He looked at Sienna and sighed. "It means that my TARDIS is about to incur some severe damage... and well, whoever is on board that other TARDIS... I'm rather afraid they stand a very slim chance of even _surviving_ the impact."

* * *

 ** _I'd say we're about halfway into the story now. I'd love to hear any thoughts you as readers have about the story. Please review when you have a few moments. Thanks! -Ruinous79_**


	18. Chapter 18

**_"It simply isn't an adventure_** ** _worth telling_**

 ** _if there aren't any dragons."_**

 ** _-J.R.R. Tolkien_**

* * *

 _Sugar Creek Public Library, Universe A, Present Day_

They waited in silence in the dark parking lot for Dayle to arrive. The Silas of her universe was leaning against his truck looking thoroughly shook. The Silas from the other universe paced in front of the TARDIS, like someone standing guard.

After going in to check on the Doctor, Savannah stood anxiously awaiting help. She wasn't just worried about the Doctor. She was worried about her mom's reaction when she saw that he'd changed. This situation was slightly unprecedented.

How does one prepare someone for something like this? "Yeah Mom. So, before you go in there, you should probably know that the quirky youngish dude you've been in love with for like six years has changed into a grumpy old skeleton guy with a Scottish accent and attack eyebrows." Perfect. Savannah made a derisive sound.

After a few minutes, she saw Silas from the other universe duck into the dim TARDIS to check on the Doctor once more. It was nice to see that _one of them_ seemed keyed in to the severity of the situation. The other Silas hadn't spoken to anyone in quite a while. He was looking through his phone now, his face a cross between nauseous and pissed off.

She felt her heart leap in her chest when her mom's Nissan Versa pulled into the lot. Dayle parked and jumped out. She ran up to Savannah and wrapped her arms around her.

"Goddammit don't _scare_ me like that!" Dayle shouted after pulling back from the embrace. "Three days Vannah! Three fucking days not knowing what had happened."

Savannah's brows furrowed. "He was supposed to bring me back to the same time we left." She shook her head. "Mom something went wrong." She drew a shaky breath and gestured helplessly toward the smoking TARDIS.

Dayle seemed to notice the blue box for the first time. Savannah's heart nearly broke at the expression on her face. "Doctor..." she breathed.

"He's inside mom, on the floor. He's still alive but it's not looking good. Some other TARDIS rammed into us and somehow it threw us back into this universe. Apparently the time remained the same which is why it's three days later." She was definitely babbling.

Dayle started toward the TARDIS at a jog. Savannah went after her and stopped her at the door. "Hey uh mom. There's something else you need to know..."

Her mom turned to look at her, curious.

"The Doctor. He regenerated. I mean before he even came here. He's not like, _your_ Doctor anymore." She chewed at her bottom lip and willed her mom to have strength.

Savannah would have given anything to be able to take back those words. The look on her mother's face for just a split second before she quickly pulled herself together. _Holy fuck._

Dayle nodded, just managing to remain unemotional. "Okay then." she murmured. Then turned and entered the TARDIS.

Savannah sighed and followed her in. Friendzone was knelt down beside the Doctor. He had taken off his hoodie and rolled it up as a makeshift pillow for the unconscious Time Lord. He stood when Dayle and Savannah entered.

"He was just talking!" he told them, sounding relieved. "He was muttering in his sleep."

"What was he saying?" Savannah wondered, wide-eyed as her mom knelt down beside the Doctor. Dayle put two fingers on the pulse at his wrist and looked at her watch, counting silently. Her expression was unreadable. She began checking him over for wounds, using a small flashlight she pulled from her pocket.

Silas raised his eyebrows. "He said lots of stuff. Kept calling me Brigadier. Said something about cybermen also asked me to make sure Amy was okay." He shrugged. "Obviously not with it."

Savannah nodded and crossed her arms. After a moment Dayle turned to Silas and asked him gently, "Silas, you said your name was? Please go out to my car and grab that black case off my passenger seat. It has some first aid stuff as well as my stethoscope. Vannah, I need you over here to hold this light so I can get a better look at the cut on his cheek."

Silas nodded and rushed out. Savannah obeyed her mother's request and knelt down beside them, grateful to be doing something useful. She took the penlight from her mom and shined it on the Doctor's face."

She saw her mom extend a shaky hand and gently touch the skin of his right cheek beneath a nasty cut. "I suppose he never intended to show this face around me." she murmured.

"He just didn't want to hurt you mom." Savannah whispered.

Dayle laughed a peculiar little laugh. "Yep. It's just like him. Always knowing what's best for everyone else. Without bothering to find out if they agree with his assessment." She shook her head. "Asshole."

Silas returned then with the bag which he handed off to Dayle. She dug into it and went to work treating what she could.

Savannah noticed he was giving her a strange look. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He pressed his lips together looking terribly uncomfortable. "Uh. I don't know how to say this but your boy headed for the hills." He shrugged. "He's gone."

Savannah sighed as she processed the news. She supposed there was entirely too much going on to worry about the uncertainty of some guy she barely knew. Some guy who obviously had seen enough crazy for one lifetime. She tried not to let her disappointment show.

She chuckled and cut her eyes up to Silas. "Can you blame him?" she wondered.

Silas looked at her quietly for a time before replying, "Yeah. Kinda."

"Well, it's a bit different for you. Sienna is your good friend. You're a tad bit more invested. He and I only hung out for the first time a few days ago." She shrugged, adjusting the direction of the penlight as her mom directed it.

Silas didn't answer for a while. Then he said "I'm not just here for Sienna you know. I gotta keep an eye on you too, right?" He gave her his cute little smartass smile.

Savannah was surprised to feel herself flush at his words. And even more surprised to find she believed that he meant what he said.

She didn't have much experience in her life with men wanting to look out for her. Her dad had never been around and her mom's choice of men most of her life left something to be desired. Savannah had followed suit and dated everything from passive aggressive mama's boys to emotionally abusive sociopaths. And Evan had been... well, let's face it. The Doctor was right. Evan had been dull.

"Zero Room." the Doctor suddenly mumbled, his eyes still closed.

The three of them looked at each other and Silas joined them in kneeling over the the Doctor.

"Did he say 'zero room'?" Savannah asked, mystified.

She noticed that her mom's expression had softened. "I'd forgotten." she remarked. "There's a room here in the TARDIS that has healing properties. He showed it to me once." She smoothed the Doctor's hair back from his forehead, perhaps unconsciously. "It was pink." she chuckled.

"Okay. We should get him back there, right?" Silas inquired, looking from Dayle to Savannah and back again.

Dayle nodded. "I guess I need to see if I can even find the place first." She stood and stretched. "Silas, do you want to keep an eye on him while Savannah and I-"

"You got it." Silas told her confidently.

Savannah and her mom headed through the almost unrecognizable control room surveying the damage along the way. Lots of warped and twisted metal, bent railings and of course the burned up console.

"Will he be able to fix this?" Savannah asked, worried.

Dayle nodded, once more expressionless. "I'm pretty sure the TARDIS has the ability to heal herself. Just like he does."

They walked through the corridor and she saw her mom pause outside the door to the bedroom Savannah herself had been sleeping in.

"Your room?" she asked her mom quietly.

Dayle just nodded again, then kept walking. "Tell me what's happening. With Sienna?"

As they continued along, they checked doors as they went.

Savannah blew out a big breath. "Oh, I'm afraid you've missed quite a lot."

Dayle gestured for her to continue and Savannah went on. "Some evil Time Lord called the Master stole that blonde Doctor's TARDIS. And then he kidnapped Sienna."

Dayle stopped walking and looked at her with her mouth agape. "What do you _mean_ he took the other Doctor's TARDIS. It exploded. The other Doctor is _dead."_

"Spoiler alert mom. He's _not._ The Master pretty much TARDIS jacked him near a black hole. The Doctor is being held prisoner in his own TARDIS so the Master can maintain control of it. And apparently those dreams I've been having were his TARDIS reaching out for help. Like a distress signal."

Dayle looked blown away by this news. "Is Sienna okay?" Dayle asked apprehensively.

"This Doctor seems to think so. He suspects that the TARDIS is helping in any way she can." Savannah explained, opening a door to an indoor running track. It was actually pretty awesome in there. "Whoa." she commented, sounding impressed.

"I've used the running track before." Dayle mumbled as an afterthought once they'd closed the door and went on. "Anything else I should know?"

 _Oh Jesus, was there ever._ Savannah sighed. Cleared her throat.

They'd reached another door and Dayle pushed it open as Savannah told her. "Well, it seems that your grandma Theia came from some planet called Karn. Which is why you are claircognizant. And Sienna is a healer. And Lenore in the other universe is a clairvoyant." She took a breath.

Dayle was staring at her in disbelief. She didn't seem to notice she'd opened the door to an empty pink room.

Savannah rushed on. "I guess the Sisterhood of Karn have something called the power of Pythia. And it skips a generation." She closed her eyes and took a breath. "The reason the TARDIS was able to send those messages to my dreams is because, well..." she placed a hand on her abdomen and looked down. "There's sort of going to be a new member of the family. And she's a telepath like her grandma."

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's Wrecked TARDIS, Present Day_

Silas helped Dayle haul the Doctor back to the strange pink room. He suspected Savannah must have filled her mom in because she appeared to have been stunned into silence. She also insisted that Savannah did not need to help move the Doctor, that the lifting was a bad idea. Savannah just walked alongside through the corridor, her lips pressed together.

The unconscious Time Lord wasn't talking anymore as they carried him through the TARDIS. Once they got him into the room, they set him on the floor since there wasn't a bit of furniture in there.

"Think I figured out why they call this the Zero Room." Savannah mumbled.

Dayle was crouched down, checking the Doctor's pulse and breathing again. She glanced over her shoulder at her daughter. "Why's that?" she asked quietly.

"Zero furniture." Savannah smirked.

Dayle chuckled. "Seriously." She finished adjusting a bandage and seemed satisfied that her patient's vitals were alright but she remained knelt down beside him. She cleared her throat and looked back at Silas and Savannah. "Hey. Do you think you two could wait out in the hall for just a moment." Silas thought she looked slightly embarrassed and Savannah looked ready to question her.

"No problem." Silas said quickly. He gave Savannah a look and gestured toward the door. She raised her eyebrows but joined him out in the corridor without another word.

The door closed behind them. They leaned against the wall opposite of the door.

"So." he began. "I take it grandma's heard the good news?"

Savannah's eyes went wide and she blew out a sigh. "Yep. I'm pretty sure the whole 'granddaughter' thing freaked her out more than the alien heritage thing."

Silas chuckled. "Your mom's great. I mean... I'm assuming. If she's anything like Sienna's mother. Which, she has to be since she's like the same exact person." He knew he was talking a lot. In his defense he was sleep deprived. And in a parallel universe. He shook his head.

Just then Dayle walked back out of the Zero Room. She closed the door behind her.

"He okay?" Savannah wondered softly.

"Yeah. You know. He's levitating." she shrugged like this was to be expected.

"Naturally." Savannah said dryly.

They headed back down the corridor toward the control room. When they got there, Dayle stepped to the console and placed her hand on it gently. "You gonna be okay Girl?" She asked and looked all around the room.

The TARDIS made a choking, stuttering sound, then hummed in response.

Dayle's mouth was set in a grim line. She looked at the other two. "It looks like we are going to have to leave these two to themselves to heal." She made a helpless gesture.

"So, what's that mean? How long until he's going to be okay?" Savannah glanced over at Silas quickly. "How long before we can head back?"

Dayle sighed and led the way out the door of the TARDIS. "I really don't know." She looked back at Silas sympathetically. "I know you're worried about Sienna. And I know you probably aren't crazy about being stuck outside your universe. But Time Lords heal awfully fast and as soon is the Doctor is feeling better, I'm certain he'll get you back to where you're supposed to be."

Silas nodded. "And Sienna?" he asked softly.

They had reached Dayle's Nissan. She had her keys out and looked at him over the roof of her car. Her mouth was set sternly, her blue eyes looked tough. "If the other Doctor is alive as you guys seem to think, I feel sorry for anyone who tries to hurt her."

Silas nodded. Because the other Doctor loved her. Of course.

"So, I guess it's okay if Silas comes to stay with us until the Doctor is better?" Savannah wondered.

She had no sooner spoken when the TARDIS made another choking stuttering sound. They turned in time to see it vanish before their eyes.

Silas blinked. "What the...?"

"She's just cloaked." Dayle assured them. "Stealth mode." She nodded at Savannah. "And of course Silas can stay. I'll have Ember sleep with me and he can have her bed."

Dayle's kind eyes studied him. "You look exhausted sweetheart." He smiled his appreciation.

"Alright mama." Savannah went over and hugged her mom. "I have to get my car home so, we'll see you back at the house in a bit."

Dayle nodded and Silas followed Savannah to her little black car. They got in as Dayle left the lot behind.

Savannah buckled her seat belt and glanced down at her phone. She chuckled darkly.

"What is it?" Silas wondered as he buckled himself in too.

"The other Silas." Savannah murmured.

Silas shook his head. A _text_? Really? What a coward. "What's he got to say?"

Though she had a smartass grin on her face, there was a sadness in her eyes she couldn't conceal. "He says ' _One too many dragons. Don't hate me'_." She continued to look down at her phone silently.

Silas squinted at her, curious. "I don't get it. What's he mean by dragons?"

Savannah finally looked up at him with the same contradictory expression. Tough, amused smile and disappointed eyes. "He told me once that he couldn't resist a damsel in distress. But that was just as long there were no dragons involved since he's a bit rusty at dragon slaying." She shrugged. "Too many fuckin dragons. Telepathy, time travel, alien treachery. Oh and that whole pregnancy thing." She sighed. "Sir Lancelot."

Silas didn't say anything in reply as Savannah started up her car and steered them toward her house. He couldn't help but be a little disgusted with the guy. Who _cared_ if he didn't know her that well? Dude was lucky enough to have a girl like her interested in him. An intelligent girl. A brave girl. He stole a glance at the beautiful face he knew so well. Like Sienna, Savannah had an ethereal quality about her that went beyond mere physical beauty. An apparent kindness that belied her badass act. Silas thought a girl like that was worth slaying all the dragons in the world.


	19. Chapter 19

**_"Your chances of survival are about one in a thousand._**

 ** _So here's what you do: you forget the thousand_**

 ** _and you concentrate on the one."_**

 ** _-Twelfth Doctor (from The Magician's Apprentice)_**

* * *

 _Zero Room, Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS_

"So what the hell do we do?" Sienna asked the Doctor frantically. "Just sit here and let the other Doctor get destroyed?"

The Doctor sighed and rubbed at his forehead thoughtfully. "Unfortunately I have no direct control over the TARDIS at this point. I would have to reach the Primary Console Room to regain full operation." He sighed and walked over to place a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Sienna there is a chance that the other Doctor's defense systems may keep damage to his TARDIS to a minimum. If the HADS are operating properly, he could be displaced in space avoiding the brunt of the impact."

Sienna had been chewing on her lip, looking down at the floor. Now she looked up at him, feeling tears burning her eyes. "My mom." she whispered. "What if she's with him?"

The Doctor nodded, his brow furrowed. "The best thing we can do right now is hang tight here until after impact." He reassured her gently. "And then I swear to you, we will find a way to contact Dayle and the Doctor. Okay?" He was looking down into her eyes and despite his evident concern, he seemed so sure of himself. It made Sienna feel slightly better.

She nodded. "So what about your TARDIS? What will happen to it?" He gestured to the floor and they sat back down against the wall. She let the tranquility of the pink room wash back over her, took a relaxed breath.

He sighed. "I suspect my TARDIS will sustain significant damage. A Time Ram is the most dangerous maneuver an operator can attempt with a TARDIS."

Sienna squinted at him. "If that's the case, why the hell would the Master even chance it? Doesn't he need this TARDIS?"

The Doctor's expression grew grim. "Other than the fact that he's quite mad you mean?" He closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "I'm rather afraid this is no longer about the TARDIS for him. It was at first. But once he learned about you through the telepathic circuits, about your connection to Karn, and your powers, his end game changed." He opened his eyes once more and looked over at her gravely. "He must be fairly confident that his reward will be well worth the risk of destroying the TARDIS."

Sienna swallowed. "He means to barter with me." she guessed.

He nodded. "And since he's set us up for a Time Ram, I have a terrible feeling he won't be headed to the Cloister Room to check back with me first. He's probably hunkered down in the control room as we speak, prepared to spring into action and set us on course to the Constellation of Kasterberous after impact. If enough of the controls even remain, that is."

Something suddenly occurred to Sienna. "Hold up...a minute ago, you said _primary_ control room. Does that mean there's _more than one_?" she wondered.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Believe it or not there are several. The designs of all my previous control rooms have been archived into the TARDIS data bank. In addition to that, the TARDIS has both a Secondary Console Room _and_ a Tertiary Console Room. The Secondary Console Room is more for storage these days. It's wood paneled and has a very basic console. There is no time rotor and there are minimal control capabilities. Interestingly enough, the _Tertiary_ Console Room..." He froze, clearly an idea having only just occurred to him.

"Doctor?" she asked. "What is it?"

He looked at Sienna and a big smile came to his face. "Sienna you are _brilliant._ " He scrambled to his feet and began to pace the Zero Room.

She felt herself flush at the praise and chuckled self consciously. "What's so special about the Tertiary Console Room then? Can you regain control of the TARDIS from there as well?"

He rubbed his chin and shook his head. "No. But the Tertiary Console Room has another unique feature. One that I've never had to use before now." He continued to pace.

Sienna jumped up and stood blocking his path, holding her hands up in a halt gesture. "Well don't keep me in suspense. _What is it_?"

The Doctor excitedly placed his hands on her shoulders and touched his forehead to hers. "It can form its own shell and split off from the rest of the TARDIS."

She blinked at him, suddenly very aware of his proximity to her. She found it disturbed her but not exactly in a bad way. "But. Wh-wh-what does that even mean?" she stammered.

His smile grew even broader. "It can be used as an escape pod."

Sienna's eyes went wide. "Well how the hell would that work? Where the hell would we go? How do you get the rest of your TARDIS back?"

The Doctor chuckled and gave her shoulders a squeeze before releasing her and continuing his pacing. "If we are operating under the assumption that the Master is taking us to Karn, it would definitely be in our best interest to land far away from him. The escape pod defaults to the nearest habitable planet so if we time it just right, we can end up on the opposite end of Karn from him and the TARDIS. Then we won't have to worry about the Master regaining any kind of control over either one of us. We will be free to move about and make our own plans."

Sienna nodded. She definitely liked the sound of that.

The Doctor continued, growing more serious. "Wherever we end up, it will be imperative that you remain hidden while I go and speak to somebody in the Sisterhood. Maybe someone there is willing to listen to reason."

Sienna felt a chill up her spine. "Doctor." she implored. "What could they possibly want with me?"

The question stopped him in his tracks. His kind blue eyes grew troubled. "Yes, well. Something's been bothering me. When I visited Karn last seeking their help, I spoke with Maren, the High Priestess. She mentioned you before I even had a chance and I suspect she knew then exactly who you were. And I'm beginning to wonder if her role in all that played out in our meeting was a coincidence or something far more orchestrated."

Something in his words conjured up the eerie sensation of deja vu. And parts of the strange dream she'd had about the red-robed women drifted into her consciousness. She shivered. "Doctor. There was an old woman. Maybe this Maren you speak of. Some type of leader of the Sisterhood I guess. She intended to _kill_ a girl. Even though she was the girl's mother."

He looked over at her like she'd grown another head and she explained quickly, "I saw it in a dream." She squinted, remembering. "I think the girl must have been my great grandmother, Theia. But there was someone there who helped Theia escape. She sent her to Earth in some teleportation thingee..."

The Doctor's eyes grew wide. "Why in the name of Rassilon would Maren have wished to kill your great grandmother? And her own daughter?" He stepped closer and looked at her intensely. "Sienna, can you remember anything else from this dream?"

She shook her head. "I-I-I don't know. I forgot most of it as soon as I woke up." She put a hand to her head, willing herself to remember. But the pressure of trying to access the memory was making it even more elusive.

The Doctor sighed patiently and took her hand. "Just relax and try to take your mind back." His voice was soothing and combined with the calming atmosphere of the Zero Room seemed to help remove the pressure she was feeling.

She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes closed, trying to recollect the details. "There was some prophecy..." She whispered. All at once, Sienna heard the crackling flames, felt the cool air of the cave.

Then she clearly envisioned the dais on which the leader perched, surrounded by the chanting red-robed women. She was surprised at how vivid the dream suddenly became to her. The High Priestess gazing into the large stoned ring she wore.

 _Sisters...I can see something now but the vision is unclear. You must concentrate..._

 _She is said to be of the woods. From the woods._

 _Theia is meant to produce an abomination._

Sienna was deep into her mind, but was aware enough to get the implications of the words. Her heart began hammering in her chest. She squeezed the Doctor's hand.

 _Ohica. Find Theia and bring her forth. She will be made a sacrifice. This prophecy shall not be fulfilled._

 _That fool...is foretold to fall in love with a Son of Earth, have his children._

 _Theia's great grandchild, a Daughter of Karn will fall in love with a Time Lord._

Sienna gasped. Her eyes flew open and she found the Doctor looking at her, very concerned. Her vision began to blur and she felt lightheaded.

"Sienna?" He worried, grabbing for her other hand to steady her.

He helped her sit back down on the floor against the wall and crouched beside her so they were at eye level.

"Are you alright? Can you tell me what you saw?" He studied her curiously.

She sighed, feeling a bit more like herself. "Well. I can assure you they aren't interested in having me to tea."

The Doctor blinked.

She shrugged and told him matter-of-factly. "I'm the abomination. I'm the reason she wanted to kill my great grandmother."

* * *

 _The Corridors, Fifth Doctor's Hijacked TARDIS_

Upon impact, the Doctor and Sienna had felt only the slightest of shudders where they waited in the Zero Room. She had looked up at him nervously and he nodded. They both jumped to their feet and headed for the door.

Aside from the barely perceptible shudder, they had no real idea of what might have been damaged until they opened the door and entered the corridor. There they found the TARDIS was rapidly filling with smoke and the Cloister Bell was tolling menacingly. The Doctor also recognized the sound of the engines phasing. It was a distinctive stuttering noise. A very troubling sign indeed.

His hearts were racing. There was no telling how badly damaged the TARDIS was and he knew they could be in very real danger. He needed to get Sienna to safety as soon as possible. They made their way through the smoke-filled hall quickly, hand in hand toward the Tertiary Console Room.

"Will the Master be able to find us?" Sienna's voice was shaking with fear. She kept glancing behind them, like she expected they were being followed.

The Doctor glanced over at her. "Under normal circumstances, the Master might be able to locate us using the Lifeform Detection Program. Fortunately, the TARDIS managed to scramble it completely before to help keep you hidden. Should give us the advantage of invisibility. For all intents and purposes."

He heard Sienna sigh in relief. But he wasn't quite finished yet. "The bad news is, the TARDIS is in no shape to be of much help to us anymore. We are on our own from here on out."

"Then you better get with the hero shit and start savin the day." she suggested sternly.

He grinned. "It will be my pleasure."

They were nearing their destination when the ceiling and arch support structure overhead collapsed directly in front of them. A large pile of rubble now blocked their way forward. They turned back to see flames licking at the walls of the corridor behind them. Where they'd stood only moments before was now completely on fire.

Sienna began to cough. "Now what?" she asked him, her brown eyes terrified.

The Doctor quickly grabbed her by the hand and tugged her down toward the floor. "For starters, stay down below the smoke." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to her face. "Try taking shallow breaths through this." She nodded and obeyed.

He stood back up and surveyed the damaged ceiling and surrounding walls. They were quite lucky they hadn't been crushed beneath the collapsed materials. The Doctor sighed. The only semi sturdy structure remaining in the damaged space above them was a thin steel pipe. Much too thin to use to climb across the debris. The rest was just a lot of cables and electrical connections.

He heard Sienna coughing again and made a sound of frustration. If only she had a respiratory bypass system as he did.

He stared unseeingly at the jumble of wires and fiber optics. So close. They'd been so close. The Master was a complete imbecile not to have taken into account the danger he was putting Sienna into. She certainly would be of no use to him dead. Even the thought of her death made the Doctor sick to his stomach. He rubbed a hand down his face as despair began to set in. This situation had gone from hopeful to utterly impossible in mere seconds...

The Doctor's eyes narrowed as he realized just what he was seeing.

 _Unless..._

He bounded toward the wall to his right and reached up for a handful of the fiber optic cables running overhead. Standing on tiptoe, he squinted at them, trying to locate the one he was looking for. _There._ He felt a twinge of hope. The light blue cable. The cable that connected this corridor to the Architectural Configuration System.

The Architectural Configuration System was what made re-configuring the structure of the TARDIS possible. The operator was able to adjust things as he saw fit from the control room and the TARDIS herself was also capable of self modification. It wasn't unheard of for a TARDIS to divert an undesirable visitor into a labyrinth or help a friendly guest lost in the corridors to find their way.

If the system was even still working, there was a chance he could telepathically divert the dimensional juncture of this corridor directly to the Tertiary Console Room. It was a long shot but...

"Doctor!" Sienna warned. "The fire!" He glanced behind them at the fast approaching flames. He could now feel the heat as the fire burned closer. He was starting to sweat.

"One moment Sienna. Just give me one moment!" he assured her and reached up to yank at the blue cable. He reached into his coat and was pleased to find a small pocket knife. Apparently the Master hadn't bothered to clear his pockets out. He had been far too confident in his paralyzing plan.

The Doctor quickly stripped the cable's casing and pinched the exposed filament between fingers and thumb. He should have just enough residual arton energy to power the connection...

The lights all around them flickered.

"Doctor!" Sienna shouted. She was practically climbing up the pile of rubble to avoid being burned now. The Doctor closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and hoped for the best.

There was a distinctive _chirp_ sound and Sienna shouted " _Holy Shit_!"

The Doctor opened his eyes and saw they were suddenly standing directly in front of the door to the Tertiary Console Room. The ACS had completely diverted them away from the burning section of the corridor. He grinned. "Right."

Sienna was still crouched down on the floor and he offered a hand to help her up. She stood and looked all around them, blinked. "What just happened?" She looked positively thunderstruck. It was actually quite adorable.

He couldn't help sounding a bit smug as he explained: "Long story short: I telepathically reconfigured the corridor using a cable from the Architectural Configuration System." Then he placed his hand against a palm-scanning plate on the wall and the doors slid open. He pulled the stunned Sienna by the hand into the control room.

The doors automatically slid shut behind them, sealing them into the odd, green-lit chamber. It was cavernous and had the feeling of an ancient landmark. As in the Cloister Room, there were broken columns littering the expansive floor and ivy climbing the gray walls. The walls were covered in the same roundels as the walls in the Primary Console Room. The console itself was off to one side rather than dead center. It was made of stone and slightly mushroom shaped. A miniature time rotor sat on top.

Sienna surveyed the space. "Wow. So this is it, huh?"

The Doctor gave her hand a squeeze then released it. He walked over to the small mushroom shaped console and stripped off his coat. He had grown quite warm and it felt good in the cool cavernous room. He studied the dusty controls until he was able to find the navigational display. He hit a button and coordinates appeared. He nodded.

"Just as we thought. We're headed straight for the planet Karn." He told Sienna.

Suddenly the sound of a microphone's feedback filled the room, followed by static, like the disturbance of a radio signal.

"Sienna dear. I hope that wasn't too big of a bump for you." A troubling giggle. "Don't worry. Once we land I'll get you all sorted out."

It was the Master broadcasting all over the TARDIS as he had before.

Sienna's eyes narrowed. "This guy really wants to be throat punched."

The Doctor set his jaw and tapped another key. "I'm not usually one for violence, but I'll be more than happy to do just that if he tries to lay one finger on you."

Sienna raised her eyebrows at him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Well alright then."

The Master wasn't finished just yet. "I'm taking you home Sienna. Back to your sisters. A good deed for which I intend to collect my eternity." He chuckled again and then was gone.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. What exactly was the Master playing at?

"Any idea what the _fuck_ he's talking about?" Sienna wondered, joining him near the console. She crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. "What does he mean by 'collect my eternity'?"

The Doctor picked his coat up from where he'd thrown it across a downed column and placed it around her shoulders to warm her up. The room really was quite cool.

He shrugged. "Honestly I haven't the foggiest notion. It sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me." He sighed and consulted the nav display once more. "We've entered the Constellation of Kasterberous." he informed her, tapping the screen. "I'll need to time this just right..."

She walked closer and peered at the screen. "I sure hope you know what you're doing." she murmured as she leaned against him. She sounded exhausted.

Her touch affected him like an electric shock but he resisted the urge to put his arm around her. Instead he simply looked down at her and smiled. "That makes two of us."


	20. Chapter 20

**_"And think not you can direct the course of love_**

 ** _for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course."_**

 ** _-Kahlil Gibran (from The Prophet)_**

* * *

 _Home of Dayle Moss, Sugar Creek, OH, Universe A_

Savannah woke in her bed to daylight streaming through the mini-blinds. Her dream was still crystal clear in her head and her eyes widened with excitement.

She threw the covers back and leaped into action. Sienna and the Doctor's last exchange played in her mind.

 _I sure hope you know what you're doing._

 _That makes two of us._

Savannah hit the hallway at a run and exploded into the kitchen to find Silas and her mother sitting at the table drinking coffee.

Silas raised his eyebrows. "I'd ask if you wanted coffee, but it looks like you don't need any." He smirked and Dayle chuckled.

"She _found_ him!" Savannah blurted breathlessly.

Dayle blinked. "Vannah, who are we talking about?"

"Sienna!" She announced triumphantly as she joined them at the table. "Sienna is with the Doctor!"

"Seriously? Sienna's okay?" Silas looked so relieved she felt a rush of joy. She was so damn glad to be the bearer of good news after all the crazy bullshit that had transpired.

"I take it you had another dream?" Dayle guessed, looking fascinated. "So tell us what you know!" Dayle encouraged when Savannah nodded in reply.

"Well... strangely enough, the dream started in the Zero Room. But like, the Zero Room in the _other_ Doctor's TARDIS. They were talking about the time ram and that they were safer to stay where they were. Then after the impact they went out into the corridor of the TARDIS and things were on fire and the Cloister Bell was ringing. The ceiling collapsed and it looked like the fire was going to catch up with them."

Savannah stopped to take a breath. "But they ended up making their way to this other console room. It was even more alien looking than the rest of the TARDIS. Green light and ivy climbing the walls. And a much smaller console that looked like it was made of stone. And then the Master was talking to them through some intercom speaker and he said something about trading Sienna to the Sisterhood of Karn to collect his 'eternity'."

"Well what the hell does _that_ mean?" Dayle interrupted.

Savannah sighed and shrugged. "The Doctor didn't even seem to know. But he did promise Sienna that he'd throat punch the Master if he laid a hand on her." She giggled at that until she saw Silas roll his eyes. She cleared her throat and went on. "Anyway, apparently this console room they were in was special. It was an actual escape pod!"

She looked from Silas to Dayle and back, awaiting their reaction to the news.

Silas sat back and crossed his arms. "So you're saying the Doctor and Sienna just abandoned TARDIS?" He looked skeptical.

"And where exactly did they mean to escape _to_?" Dayle insisted.

Savannah shrugged. "Karn."

Now Silas looked pissed. He threw his hands up in the air like he'd had it. "Now why the fuck would they do _that_? That's exactly where the Master wanted to take Sienna."

Dayle looked thoughtful. "I suspect the Doctor wanted to stay near enough the TARDIS to get it back but more importantly, he wanted to find out what the Master was up to."

Savannah nodded. "I think he intended to time it just right, so that they landed on a different part of Karn than the Master." She sighed and looked at Silas pointedly. "The Doctor intends to keep Sienna out of sight. Hidden, while he investigates things."

Silas sipped his coffee and still looked pissed. "Sounds pretty fuckin risky to me." he grumbled.

Dayle sighed and raised her eyebrows. "Well it wouldn't be the Doctor if there wasn't some risk involved." She stood and stretched, then grabbed her mug off the table. "But in my experience, there's always some method to his madness." She turned and took her mug to the sink.

Savannah and Silas sat in comfortable silence together.

"Guys, I'm going to head to the store and I'll stop in and check on the Doctor." Dayle informed them when she returned. She kissed Savannah on the cheek and grabbed her bag off the nearby hall table.

When she'd gone, Savannah poked Silas in the leg with her barefoot. "Hey. Did you get some rest last night?"

He looked at her and she finally got a smile. "Yeah. I snuggled up with Ember's stuffed animals and slept like a baby."

Savannah giggled. Ember had stayed the night with a friend last night so when they'd got in from the library, all of them had gone directly to bed and crashed out.

Silas was looking into his coffee mug, all moody again.

"Hey." she said softly. He looked up. "I know you are majorly worried about your friend. But I gotta tell you. That other Doctor guy? He's not about to let anything happen to her." He scoffed at her words and she studied him for a moment. "I get the feeling that's not what you want to hear." she commented.

Silas looked back up and gave her a small smile. "Nah. I'm not tryin to be _that_ guy." He scratched his head and made a sound of frustration. "See and I. We've been real close ever since rehab." He shrugged. "She's my best friend. Pretty much my only friend."

"And you have a bit of a thing for her." Savannah said gently.

He nodded. "There were a few times I thought she might feel the same way, but there was always something that held her back." He shook his head. "I thought she might still have a thing for her ex Chris. It never occurred to me that I was competing with a freakin Time Lord."

Savannah couldn't help but laugh. "Well why the hell not? Wasn't that the obvious assumption?"

Silas chuckled at that, then cleared his throat. "So... does Sienna have her memory back? I mean... does she remember... anything?"

Savannah blew out a sigh and thought back to her dream. "No." she replied carefully. "But there's definitely something still there." She gauged his reaction before she went on. "I mean, feelings like that couldn't have just disappeared completely."

Silas nodded again. "Kinda what I thought." He sat up straighter in his chair and took a deep breath. "Well, I am definitely glad she's safe. I guess the rest of it is none of my business any way."

They were quiet again for a time and then Savannah stood to fix herself some coffee. She leaned against the counter and blew on the mug to cool it. Silas stood to refill his cup. She watched him.

"Silas." He looked over at her. "I'm sorry man. That shit's tough." There was nothing worse than wanting someone who didn't want you back. Silas wasn't the only one who'd ever been friendzoned.

He smiled and this time it reached his green eyes. "Thanks." He leaned against the counter beside her.

"And you're wrong you know." she informed him. There was humor in her eyes as she sipped at her coffee.

He looked puzzled. "About what?"

"Sienna's not your only friend."

* * *

 _One Week Later_

The sound of machine gun fire and IEDs exploding surrounded them. A helicopter could be heard somewhere in the distance.

"See Silas. You just have to duck behind these cars near the alley to avoid getting taken out." Ember explained as she demonstrated with the Xbox controller.

On the television, the animated military captain huddled behind the burned out carcass of a car and reloaded his weapon.

Silas sighed and shook his head in embarrassment. He'd spent weeks back at home unsuccessfully trying to beat this mission on Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Savannah's ten year old little sister had just schooled him on it.

Ember passed him the controller clearly bored with the unchallenging task and asked, "When is Vannah getting home?"

Silas set the controller down and hopped up to check the clock on the stove. 8:04 pm

"She got off work a few minutes ago. Should be here any time."

"Sweet." Ember exclaimed. "She's supposed to help me with my Geography worksheet." Ember ran off to start on her homework.

Silas sat back on the sofa and thought about his circumstances. He was really beginning to despair ever getting back to his own universe. It had been nearly a week and the Doctor's condition remained the same. The only change seemed to be the TARDIS. After only a few days of self repair, she seemed to be good as new. Dayle checked in on the Doctor frequently. He suspected that when she woke for her night shift in a few hours, she'd head straight there before the hospital.

He heard a car door shut and as always, a smile crept over his face. If there was any consolation to being trapped in a parallel universe, it was definitely Savannah Moss. He'd never met anyone quite like her. An old soul in so many ways but a goofy kid in many others. She was a master smartass which he definitely respected. She was opinionated about politics and social issues. She was thoughtful and introspective but when she got excited she got hyper and loud. When she got going, Silas laughed until his sides hurt. She was a trip.

She was also always trying to take care of everybody else. Her mom. Ember. Not like she expected anything in return. She was just naturally driven to worry about everyone and their needs. Silas suspected she'd been like this from the time she was a kid and knew it likely sprang from having an addict for a mother.

Silas told her that she needed to take care of herself and to worry about herself too. She'd just shrugged like he was being stupid and changed the subject.

The screen door squeaked open and Savannah walked in with her purse over one shoulder. She noticed the game paused on the TV and snorted. "Ember teaching you how to play Xbox again?"

"Oh shut up." Silas countered, only half serious. "How was your day? Was other me creepin on you again?"

She sat heavily on the couch and raised an eyebrow. "He keeps coming around me like a little sad puppy. Like he feels all guilty for abandoning me." She shrugged. "Honestly I've just been acting like none of it ever happened. Seems less complicated that way."

He tried to sound casual when he asked. "He ask you out again?" He hoped to hell his voice sounded more normal coming out of his mouth than it sounded in his head.

She smirked. "Nah. I think the whole pregnancy thing might have turned him off that."

Silas looked her over. She still wasn't showing at all. "How are you feeling?"

She made a face. "Like total shit in the morning. And by 3 in the afternoon I'm asleep at my desk drooling all over the keyboard." She grinned, her brown eyes suddenly sparkling. "Lancelot actually walked into the call center yesterday and saw me like that. Can't imagine why he doesn't want to ask me out."

Yesterday, Savannah had also broken down and called her ex boyfriend Evan to tell him the news. She didn't seem a bit surprised that he was less than pleased.

"He offered to pay for the abortion." she'd informed Silas dryly after hanging up.

"Charming dude." Silas had replied.

Savannah had sighed resignedly. "He never wanted kids."

Silas felt bad for her but not in a pitying kind of way. He didn't doubt that she'd be a good mom on her own. He just thought it was shitty that she didn't have someone to be happy about it with her. Because he could tell, she was happy, despite all her grousing about morning sickness and narcolepsy.

"Hey. Ember said you're supposed to help her with Geography." Silas reminded her now. "Because I know nothing sounds more exciting than fourth grade homework after a long day at work."

Savannah giggled. "What'd you two do for dinner?" she wondered, standing and heading for the kitchen.

Before he could answer, he heard her groan. "Seriously! You made disgusting ass frozen pizza _again_?"

"Hey, I can't fuckin cook!" Silas yelled defensively. He hopped up and joined her in the kitchen. "Ember kept talking about making some pasta dish but I was afraid she'd burn the house down so I took the safe route."

Savannah fixed him with a withering look. "Next time let the girl cook. Trust me. We learned to fend for ourselves young." She walked over to the trash and pulled out the full bag.

He walked over and wrested the garbage bag away from her. "Oh. I take it Dayle's not much of a cook?"

"The frozen pizzas are for her." Savannah said, like that was answer enough. "You know, you don't have to play this whole 'man of the house takes out the trash' bullshit with me." she scoffed.

He rolled his eyes. "Sit down and eat some disgusting ass frozen pizza Vannah."

She cracked up as he swung the bag over his shoulder and headed out the back door. It was super dark outside. No moon and not a star in the sky. Silas definitely looked at stars differently these days.

As he walked across the backyard toward the alley, he felt a familiar knot in his gut. Sienna. Savannah hadn't had a single dream since their first night here. He hated not knowing if she was okay.

He dumped the garbage into the green bin near the garage and turned to head back. His heart nearly stopped. A figure was standing in the middle of the back yard, cloaked in shadow.

Silas froze and squinted at it. "Uh...hello?" No movement.

Curiosity got the better of him and he took a few steps forward, feeling his heart hammering against his ribcage. As he drew closer he could see it was a woman. A creepy woman wearing a red robe with a hood. His eyes widened. He'd heard enough stories to know exactly where this bitch likely came from.

When she didn't speak, he cleared his throat and tried again, "Hello." His eyes darted toward the backdoor. He silently willed Savannah to stay put inside the kitchen.

Finally the woman spoke. Silas felt his eyes narrow as a strange language he'd never heard rolled off her tongue. Great. He'd misplaced his English to Karn dictionary.

And, the queen of perfect timing, Savannah swung the backdoor open just then. "Hey Silas. Did you get lost?" she called from the porch.

The shrouded figure turned toward the voice and started walking unhurriedly toward the house. Oh hell no.

Silas ran around the woman toward the house. "Savannah. Get back inside _right now_." he ordered.

Savannah looked at him like ' _who do you think you're talkin to?'_ but then noticed their uninvited guest walking through the yard toward her. "What the _hell_?" Her eyes got huge and she backed into the kitchen. "It's...Ohila..." she whispered in disbelief like he was supposed to know what that meant.

"Go wake your mom or something!" he shouted and closed the door. He put his back to it and crossed his arms. Silas had always followed his mom's advice to never hit a woman but he'd also never encountered a creepy telepathic she-alien with shady motives. He hoped this red-robed nightmare wasn't about to make him disappoint his mother. He cracked his knuckled nervously.

"What do you want?" He asked sternly, doubting she could understand a word he said.

The woman smiled, a slightly crazy looking smile and started to chatter in that odd language again.

He thought he had nothing to lose so decided to practice a little Tagalog on her. His mom has insisted he and his brother Luke learn her native language which they generally only used to call each other dirty words behind her back.

The chick from Karn wasn't impressed. Suddenly the door behind him was prised open and Dayle stood in the doorway, hands on hips looking legitimately pissed off.

"Who's your friend Si?" Dayle inquired, her eyes narrowed.

 _Oh lord_ , did Silas feel sorry for the space chick now. She'd woke the mama bear.

The woman in the red robe stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the blonde woman standing just behind Silas.

"And you must be Dayle." the inscrutable woman guessed, just as clear as day.

Silas felt his mouth drop open. He looked back at Dayle. "A second ago this chick couldn't speak a word of English. I swear..."

"Yeah, I'm Dayle. And who are you and what the _fuck_ are you doing in my back yard?" Dayle walked down the steps despite Silas's attempts to block her and stepped face to face with the stranger.

Silas moved toward them, ready to break up a serious catfight.

The woman in the red robe chuckled happily and glanced around them like she was looking for something. "The Doctor has arrived." she informed them cryptically.

Dayle blinked. "What are you talking about? Who are you and what do you want with my family?" she demanded.

The woman's smile never left her face. "I am called Ohila. High Priestess of the Sisterhood of Karn. Your grandmother Theia was my best friend for thousands of years."

This news seemed to put Dayle's guard down slightly. "Okay... well. What the hell were you just saying about the Doctor?"

Before Ohila could respond, the backdoor swung open again and the Doctor strolled out casually.

"She was saying that she knew I was here." he told Dayle matter-of-factly. "It's the only reason you can understand each other. The TARDIS translation matrix."

Dayle seemed to forget all about the visitor from Karn and was now staring at the thin older man, her eyes wide. "Doctor." She breathed. "You're alright."

Silas felt relief wash over him. He went and sat down heavily on the porch step and closed his eyes for a moment. It was like he was letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Of course I'm alright." The Doctor told Dayle, looking into her eyes. "I had the best nurse in the entire universe looking after me."

Dayle smiled and blushed a little at his words and Silas chuckled despite himself. He thought about what Savannah had said to him a week ago about Sienna and the other Doctor.

 _Feelings like that couldn't have just disappeared completely._

It was pretty obvious from Dayle's expression and body language that the Doctor changing faces hadn't made those feelings disappear for her either.

"I was just asking our guest what exactly she was doing here." She told the Doctor, sounding flustered.

"Family business I imagine." He threw a glance over his shoulder at Silas. "Hey there! Friendzone. Why don't you go make yourself useful and make us some tea?"

Silas felt his eyes narrow. _Just when he was happy to see the fucker._

Savannah was suddenly standing in the open doorway. "Try not to beat the shit out of him." She whispered. "He's your only ride home."

"I make no promises." He grumbled. Then he looked up at her. "You okay?"

She grinned. "Surprisingly better now that there's a TARDIS in my living room."

He chuckled and climbed to his feet. "I guess we go make some tea for the Time Lord and the High Priestess of Karn then?"

"Well it _is_ Thursday after all." Savannah pointed out.


	21. Chapter 21

" _ **Do what I do.**_

 _ **Hold tight and pretend it's a plan."**_

 _ **-Eleventh Doctor (from The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe)**_

* * *

 _TARDIS Escape Pod, The Wastelands, Karn_

"Sienna open your eyes. We've landed. We've made it."

It took her a moment to realize that the roar that had accompanied them upon entry into Karn's atmosphere had suddenly halted.

Her eyes flew open and she saw the Doctor was across the room studying something on the control panel.

Sienna blew out a breath. "Well that was the single most terrifying experience of my entire life." She unbuckled herself from the jumpseat and climbed to her feet. "At least that I can recall." she added pointedly.

He glanced up from the stone console and gave her a look that plainly said _Seriously?_ But for the moment at least, Sienna wasn't in the mood to fight.

She joined him at the console. "So, where we at? And more importantly, where's the Master at?" She crossed her arms and squinted down at the computer screen. It appeared to be shut down.

He chewed on his bottom lip and looked thoughtful. "It would seem that when we separated from the rest of the ship, we lost a great deal of our instrumentation. The geolocator system is offline. All communications are down. Even the scanner isn't working."

Sienna blinked. "Yeah, but... you knew that would happen right?"

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "Not at all. As I said. I've never had to utilize the Tertiary Console Room for such circumstances before. We're learning as we go." He grinned at her and continued his assessment of the instruments.

Sienna felt a knot forming in her stomach. That was quite possibly the least reassuring thing she'd ever heard. Wasn't he supposed to be the big, bad hero after all? The hero was supposed to reassure you that he had everything under control. And the damn hero was _always_ supposed to have a plan. Sienna had a sinking feeling the Doctor did not have a plan at all.

"My immediate concern is with our lack of visual orientation." He added. "Without the scanner, I have no way of seeing what's going on outside these walls."

He narrowed his eyes at the control panel and tapped a few keys. Nothing happened. He sighed. "It appears that I can't even do a simple atmosphere check." He rubbed at his chin for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. "Right. Guess it'll have to be the old fashioned way then."

He strode to the door and placed his hand against the palm plate. The doors slid open and a horrid, howling sound filled the escape pod. Sienna peered outside and didn't understand what she was seeing. The sky, the entire outside world was shrouded in an opaque orangey-red haze. _What the hell_? It didn't look like fog... it wasn't smoke...

The Doctor quickly stepped back and closed the door. He turned and looked at her, his expression annoyed. "Dust." he stated simply.

"What the hell do you mean _dust_?" She sputtered.

He rubbed his hands against his coat and shrugged. "The ground-the dirt and even the rocks-here on Karn is mostly red. So when the winds pick up you'll see the occasional red dust storm. Or Blood Wind as the Sisterhood like to call it." He rolled his eyes. "A bit on the melodramatic side if you ask me."

Sienna threw up her hands. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait of course. We certainly can't go out in that." The Doctor pressed a button in the wall and the jumpseat he'd been buckled into before slid back out of the wall. He sat down like he didn't have a care in the world.

She stood froze in place, staring down at him incredulously. "You mean that we're going to _walk_ to wherever it is we're going?"

He grinned at her in a charming way. "Well why not? A nice brisk walk is good for you."

"But you don't even know where the hell we are?" She asked.

"Correct." he confirmed.

She felt like her head was about to explode. He was quite possibly the most frustrating man she'd ever met. She took a deep breath and tried to find her chill. It would do her no good to get mad at him all over again.

And besides, he had to have _something_ up his sleeve. The great genius Time Lord. "Doctor, I know you must have a plan. You must know exactly how to get us out of this mess. You probably have backup coming. You have some space gadgets and weapons stashed around in here somewhere." Sienna gestured around the room.

What she'd hoped for was a confident declaration from the great hero. Of course he had a plan! He was ready to kick some Karn ass!

Instead he merely fixed her with an amused look. "My goodness but you don't remember me at all, do you?" He sat further back in the chair, crossed his legs and continued to study her curiously.

Sienna just blinked. "So... is this your thing then? You just show up someplace totally unprepared and fucking improvise, hoping you're clever enough to figure it out in the end?"

The Doctor chuckled. "So you _do_ remember me." He stood back up and walked the length of the wall. He found a switch and a door Sienna hadn't noticed before popped open.

He gestured toward the open door. "Fortunately there's a bit more to this place than meets the eye. The TARDIS spared enough room for some storage and a restroom. He grinned. "Even a shower."

Sienna was speechless. She watched as he dug through the closet and came out with blankets and water and food. There was even some type of fancy looking fold out cot.

She narrowed her eyes. "How long exactly does one of these Blood Wind things last?"

He shrugged. "Could be a few days." She gasped but he went on, clearly trying to get her to see the half full portion of the glass. "Fortunately for us, the TARDIS, and by proxy this pod would have been undetectable to the Sisterhood's telepathy as they entered Karn's atmosphere. I timed our landing to be sure we'd land in another region of the planet altogether, away from their caves. Don't you see? We still have the element of surprise."

Sienna was near tears at this point. This was too much. She went and sat back down in her seat and put her face in her hands. She stayed silent like that for some time until the Doctor grew concerned.

"Sienna?" he called to her. She heard him approach.

She looked up, hoping he couldn't see that she'd almost started to cry. "So what you're telling me is we are stuck here. Wherever _here_ is. Just me and you, in this room. With a couple blankets and fucking weird space food. We can't communicate with anyone. And nobody knows we're here. Nobody is coming to help us. And you have no plan at all. No vehicle. No weapons. The only thing we have going for us is the _element of surprise_?"

He came and knelt down beside her, for the moment not acting smug or nonchalant. He gazed at her with an inscrutable expression on his handsome face. "I'm not what you expected I take it?"

Sienna crossed her arms over her chest, now feeling aggravated at her physical reaction to his proximity and piercing blue eyes. She didn't answer. She just chewed at her lip trying not to appear as flustered as she felt.

He looked away and smiled sadly. "You're disappointed with me." A statement. Not a question.

She gave a little humorless laugh. "You're seriously worried about _me_ being disappointed?" She ran a hand through her hair and made a frustrated noise. "I feel like you're expecting me to just roll with the punches and be okay with all this craziness." She shook her head. "I don't know what kind of person you think I am. What kind of person you knew before. I'm not sure what I told you or what sort of badass act I put on, but it turns out I'm not all that brave." She closed her eyes, hating to admit this. "I'm fuckin scared to death."

When she opened her eyes she found he was smiling at her, a look of warmth in his eyes. He reached over and took hold of her hand. She looked down at their hands for a moment, fascinated by the tingling sensation she felt at his touch.

"Sienna Woods, if you _weren't_ afraid under the current circumstances I would question your intelligence." He very gently brushed a stray lock of dark hair off her face. Her heart stuttered a bit as he continued. "And as for what kind of person I think you are, I happen to think you're the kind of person who is quite brilliant. The kind of person able to think outside the box to solve problems. A tremendous asset in tough situations. And I also think you're the kind of person who would crawl through a pitch black tunnel alone despite being deathly afraid of the dark."

She made a derisive sound at that last part.

"Sienna, I think you're being rather hard on yourself. Bravery only means something if there's something to fear in the first place. There's a misconception that brave means unafraid. The very fact that you can face your fears shows bravery."

His words brought comfort and reassurance. His proximity, however, brought butterflies and confusion. His face was quite close to hers now and he had not let go of her hand. She had the sneaking suspicion that he might try to kiss her. She was caught somewhere between pushing him away and throwing him down on the floor and humping his brains out. She cleared her throat and stood up quickly, leaving him knelt down beside an empty chair with a startled look on his face.

"You mentioned there was a shower..." she reminded him.

The Doctor stood and adjusted his coat. His face was a mixture of amusement and annoyance when he pointed toward the door. "Through there." he said.

* * *

The remainder of the first day on Karn had been rather uneventful. The first night on the escape pod was a different story. The wind was merciless and at night so fierce that it actually pummeled the capsule a bit. It was disconcerting feeling the ground beneath you shift. The Doctor would know because he'd given Sienna the cot and slept on the floor.

Not that she seemed particularly appreciative to him for being a gentleman. If there was one thing that drove him quite mad about this woman it was her inability to adapt to circumstances with grace. She complained about the water pressure in the shower, the lack of entertainment and the scratchy blankets.

He tried to be patient because he understood she was scared and out of her element but he came very close to pointing out what a spoiled brat she was being. Her behavior actually brought to mind a certain past companion of his from Australia.

Sienna had woke several times that first night, each time startled out of her sleep. All the stress, he supposed. Once she actually fell out of the cot and spent the next several minutes saying every curse word she could think of. He suspected she even made up a few of them. Her swearing spree went on for so long that the Doctor finally threatened to lock her in the closet if she didn't let him get some rest. He had only been half joking.

The second day was at least less tense. It ended up being quite a history lesson. She wanted to know everything he knew about Karn and the origins of the Sisterhood.

He felt it best to start with a detailed history of Time Lord society on Gallifrey. He also explained a bit more about the matriarchal society that had existed before, led by the Pythia.

He told her all about the sacred flame and the elixir of life that kept the Sisterhood of Karn immortals for all intents and purposes.

They sat together having a little picnic for lunch. He noticed that she didn't seem to mind the 'weird space food' when she was hungry.

"So what have your experiences with these women been like?" she wondered taking a sip of water.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and thought about that. "I came to Karn once before a long while ago and encountered a rather insane human called Solon. He turned out to be a fanatical follower of a long dead Time Lord named Morbius. Now, Morbius was evil incarnate. Made the Master look positively altruistic by comparison."

"Yikes." Sienna murmured.

"Anyway, this Solon was a renowned scientist and surgeon. He was something of a genius in the field of microsurgical grafting and tissue transplants. Somehow he managed to attain the still living brain of Morbius and preserved it. He intended to construct a body out of dead tissue and resurrect Morbius. He actually had quite a good start on the body when we met. Just needed a head." He noticed that Sienna was looking a bit nauseous. She dropped her fork and wrinkled her nose.

"So basically you're saying you met Dr. Frankenstein. Dr. Friggin Frankenstein lived on Karn."

The Doctor chuckled. "If you like. So, long story short, I had to stop him of course. And along the way I encountered the Sisterhood. My interactions with them during that fiasco could best be described as... _conflicting_."

"Conflicting?" Sienna smirked.

"Yes well. You know how it goes. They stole my TARDIS, they accused me of conspiring to steal their elixir, I insulted their superstitious belief structure, they tried to kill me, then they saved my life, then I repaired their sacred flame."

Sienna nodded. "Conflicting. Gotcha."

"The High Priestess, or Reverend Mother as she is called, was something of a puzzle to me. Maren." His brow furrowed. "Her mind was quite brilliant of what I could see of it. But there was bitterness and darkness there. Her disdain for Time Lords in general went much deeper than a historical grudge. It was personal to her. She was quite reluctant to assist me in any way. Her next in command was a young woman called Ohica. She seemed to have a lot to do with the Sisterhood helping me that day. Aside from her general peculiarities, she actually seemed like a good person. She was compassionate and had a sense of right and wrong."

Sienna's eyes were narrowed and she was shaking her head. "Ohica." she whispered, Ohica!" She looked up at the Doctor. "That's her! That's the one who helped Theia!"

The Doctor nodded. "It's as I suspected. She is who I intend to seek out. I have a feeling there's much I can learn from her. And she might even be willing to help us."

Suddenly a story he'd heard long ago occurred to him.

"You know, many Gallifreyans claim that Maren had fallen in love with a Time Lord, even had his child."

Sienna narrowed her eyes at him. "I thought all Time Lords were cursed with sterility by the Pythia chick."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, but this was to have taken place just _before_ that happened. In the midst of the fallout between Pythia and Rassilon, it is rumored that Maren began a relationship with Anteros who just so happened to be the son of Apeiron.

Sienna raised her eyebrows as she chewed her food. Then she said "I suppose this Apeiron guy was a super important time dude."

The Doctor chuckled. "You might say that. Along with Rassilon, Apeiron was one of the six founders of Time Lord society. They even have a statue of the man right in the Panopticon."

Sienna peered at him curiously. "Are you suggesting that this Anteros character might have been Theia's father?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I suppose there's always the possibility."

Sienna made an impressed face. "Hmm. So that would make _me_ part Time Lord then?"

He rolled his eyes. "Time Lady if you want to get technical about it." He stood to throw his trash away.

"Interesting." Sienna said suddenly. He turned back to see a look of intrigue on her face.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "What? That you might be part Time Lady?"

"That Maren should feel so strongly about my falling in love with a Time Lord if she herself had done the same." She chewed at her thumb. "There really must be something more to that."

"I'm certain there is." The Doctor agreed. _Interesting indeed._

When Sienna stood up to throw away her trash, she accidentally brushed against him and moved away as if she'd been burned.

She had been behaving like that ever since the day before when he'd knelt down beside her and held her hand. Being that close to her, the Doctor had felt the sudden urge to kiss her. It was clear that Sienna picked up on it and escaped as quickly as she could.

Strangely though, he wasn't offended. Because he knew Sienna. He knew her body language and her facial expressions. And he knew that she had been affected by his closeness to her. That she was still attracted to him.

The Doctor had absolutely no intention to push the matter. There was a time and place. For the time being, he needed to concentrate on resolving the issues here on Karn. Things between he and Sienna could be resolved afterwards. Or so he hoped.

Later that night when he was very nearly asleep, Sienna whispered. "Doctor?"

"What is it Sienna?"

"What would you have done?" she asked him cryptically.

The Doctor sat up and squinted in her direction. "Done when?" he wondered.

"If you hadn't gone to the Malum Star System. If everything had turned out okay. I wasn't about to die. You weren't about to die... what would you have done?"

The Doctor was frankly surprised she was bringing this up. He thought he knew just what she was asking but wanted to be sure.

"What would I have done about what Sienna?"

"Well... _me_. If we were so in love... I mean...would you have stayed with me?" she sounded nervous to even be asking the question but obviously her curiosity on the matter had trumped all that.

"No." he told her quite honestly. "I would not have stayed on Earth. I would have resumed my normal life in the TARDIS."

Sienna seemed caught off guard by his honesty. "Oh." she replied awkwardly. She cleared her throat. "Just curious."

He laid back down on the floor and pulled the blanket over him. "I would, however, have asked you to come away with me." he added, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

This admission seemed to stun her into silence and she didn't utter another word for the rest of the night.

When he woke the next morning he went to the door to check on the storm. He was pleasantly surprised to find the winds had died down, the skies were clearing. He stepped outside and took in his surroundings. He was also relieved to find that he had a very good idea of where they'd ended up.

"Is the storm over?" He turned to find Sienna standing close behind him, peering out of the doors.

"Indeed." He clapped his hands together. "Alright. I suppose we need to pack up a few things and set out."

Sienna looked a little anxious. "Does that mean you know where we are?"

"Of course I do. We're in the wastelands." He headed to the closet to look for some type of rucksack to bring along.

"So we are gonna just go wandering through the scenic _wastelands_ lugging around bottled water and food rations? Sounds like a dystopian nightmare. Sign me up!" she murmured.

He chuckled. "You'll be pleased to know that I actually have a destination in mind. One might even be tempted to call it a _plan_." He found two good sized back packs and held one out to Sienna who sighed and joined him in dealing with supplies.

"You're going to say caves aren't you?" she grumbled. "I just know this involves caves."

He grinned. "I believe _castle_ is the word you're looking for."

She dropped the backpack. "Wait, Karn has a _castle_?"

He shrugged. "Well of course. It's Dr. Solon's old place. It's deserted now. And it has one feature that I think we'll find quite useful."

"Wait. Frankenstein's castle?" Sienna stared at him in open mouthed disbelief.

"Yes, well Frankenstein's castle just so happens to be the very best place on Karn for you to hide. And that's because the stone that it is primarily comprised of is matricite. Matricite is a rare mineral that actually blocks telepathy naturally."

Sienna looked intrigued if a little nervous. "So the Sisterhood wouldn't be able to detect me. That's what you're counting on right?"

He patted her on the back. "I think you'll feel much better once we're there. You can make yourself comfortable and be perfectly safe while I go try to contact Ohica."

She sighed, clearly resigned to her fate. "Well, I guess hanging out at a castle with a gruesome history beats whatever the hell the Sisterhood has in mind for me."

"Quite right." The Doctor encouraged. "All we have to do is figure out how to get across Moira Swamp to reach the castle."

Sienna looked up at him with murder written all over her face. "Wait. What do you mean _swamp_?"


	22. Chapter 22

" _ **Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end,**_

 _ **by forces over which we have no control.**_

 _ **It is determined for the insect as well as for the star."**_

 _ **-Albert Einstein**_

* * *

 _Home of Dayle Moss, Sugar Creek, OH, Universe A_

Fortunately, the Doctor had put the TARDIS in cloaked mode before Ember could come check out the situation. As it was, she watched the newcomers, Ohila and the Doctor with eagle eyes. Dayle banished her to take her bath and get ready for bed as they all convened in the living room. Savannah knew from her own experience, Ember could be a perceptive little thing. Savannah wondered what she would make of all this in the end.

The Doctor sat in the love seat with Dayle, Savannah noticed. They weren't touching each other, but she got the distinct feeling that they wanted to be. Like, maybe nothing had changed for them after all. Hmm. Wonders never ceased.

Ohila sat looking perfectly at ease in a rocking chair, eyeballing each of the humans in an unsettling way.

Savannah sat nervously on the couch, crossing and uncrossing her legs. Quite frankly, she felt another panic attack coming on. She felt nauseous and afraid and was actually a bit surprised at herself since she'd held up relatively well thus far. So why did she wait until now to melt down? It took her a few seconds to understand what had changed for her.

Just like she said to the Doctor before the time ram. She was going to be someone's mother. This wasn't just about her anymore. The implications of that fact hit her just then and hit her hard. She had to steady her breathing to keep from hyperventilating. Last thing she needed was to fall out in the middle of this intergalactic fucking huddle.

Before she even realized he had sat beside her, Silas grabbed a hold of her hand and bumped up against her playfully. "You gonna make it?" he wondered. He sounded sarcastic but his eyes looked concerned. She squeezed his hand, already feeling a bit stronger.

Out of nowhere, her mother proclaimed, "Alright. I need something cleared up, right off the bat."

The Doctor turned in the seat toward her, clearly curious. Ohila just sat there being creepy.

"Where is the Maren chick? The one we met the last time we were in Universe B, trying to help Sienna and the other Doctor? I don't recall an _Ohila_ running the Sisterhood in the other universe." Dayle's eyes were narrowed as she stared down the uninvited woman. Savannah had to work to keep herself from laughing. Nobody was going to fuck with her mom. Even some creepy space witch.

Silas must have had the same thoughts because he leaned over and whispered, "Damn, your mom's a _savage._ " Savannah tittered.

"Well, I think I can answer that, at least in part." The Doctor responded. "In this universe, Maren died helping me many years ago."

Savannah blinked. "Uhhh. You think you might've buried the lead a bit there Doc?"

"He's good for that." Dayle muttered.

"But I _am_ curious what happened to _Ohica_." The Doctor continued, peering over at Ohila. "She was next in command as I recall."

Ohila sat forward a bit in her seat. "Ohica was my mother. She became High Priestess for a time." Her nostrils flared and she looked at the ground. "She was lost to the Time War." Some unnameable emotion flickered across the stoic woman's face. Then she pressed her lips together and turned to stone once more.

Before she could stop herself, Savannah said, "I'm so sorry for your loss." with complete sincerity. Everyone looked at her, surprised, like her sentiment was out of place under the circumstances. But Savannah could only think what it would do to her to lose her own mom. She saw Ohica was also looking at her now. Savannah realized her eyes had softened somewhat.

Ohila spoke again. "I came here because the Doctor's visit left me quite intrigued. An entirely different story of what became of Karn. An entirely different fate for Maren." She looked to the Doctor and crossed her arms. "Tell me. Have you pinpointed the event that changed things for the other universe? The little twist of fate, so to speak?"

The Doctor shrugged. "First of all, I've been a bit out of commission for the past week. Second of all, none of this has anything to do with fate."

Dayle sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. "So damn stubborn." she murmured. Savannah got the feeling that this was an argument they'd had in the past.

The Doctor just gave her a little side eye in return, then returned his gaze to the High Priestess. "Third of all, I believe _you're_ going to have to fill in some of the missing details. What happened with Theia for instance. Why did she come to Earth?"

Savannah was dying to know that one herself.

Ohila broke eye contact with the Doctor and seemed to go back in her mind. Just the slightest bit of sadness registered on her face. Barely perceptible but there if you were perceptive. "My mother sent her." She looked up into Savannah's eyes again. "My mother saved her life. Maren had ordered her dead. Immolated in a sacrificial ritual."

Savannah felt her heart leap. Plot twist. "Why?" she whispered, horrified.

Ohila smirked. "Because of some _prophecy_." She said the word like it was a bad taste in her mouth.

"Maren was going to kill her own daughter?" Dayle asked in disbelief. "That's fucking terrible. She must've been a monster." Savannah's thoughts exactly.

"What exactly was this prophecy?" The Doctor wondered, now quite literally on the edge of his seat.

"It was vague. That's what it was." Ohila gave the little smirk again. "Maren was an off-generation sister. Foreseeing did not come naturally to her. It took every bit of the Sisterhood's collective power to receive a divination. What she learned that day was that Theia would bear a Daughter of Earth. And somehow, that fact would result in Maren's death." She paused and looked very deliberately at the Doctor, like she savored telling him this part. "At the hands of a Time Lord."

The Doctor blinked and Savannah felt a chill go right through her.

"Holy shit." Silas muttered.

"Took the words right out of my mouth Friendzone." the Doctor remarked, looking thunderstruck.

"But. The Doctor didn't _kill_ Maren. _Right?_ " Dayle looked from Ohila to the Doctor and back again.

"Of course not." the Doctor looked at her like he couldn't believe she had to ask. "I was injured, very nearly dead. And she gave up her portion of the Elixir of Life to save me."

Savannah shook her head. "So how the hell is that in any way related to Theia having a child with a human? Obviously she read the prophecy wrong."

Ohila tilted her head to one side. "Did she?"

* * *

Silas was caught up in this crazy story about prophecies and ritual sacrifice. He had a feeling that learning how all this fit together was the only way they would be able to help Sienna and the other Doctor.

He cleared his throat and asked, "Well did she?" Everyone turned to look at him like he'd just committed some unforgivable social gaffe.

"Son of Earth. Shutting up now." he mumbled. Savannah giggled.

"I assure you, the prophecy was indeed fulfilled." Ohila told the Doctor. She settled into her seat and studied one edge of her red robe critically, like she'd spotted a hole or a stain. "Maren was a bitter woman. Thousands of years she spent with a daughter whose very existence reminded her of the most terrible day of her life." Ohila's crazed eyes swept the room, as if appraising her audience. "The day the man she loved killed himself."

Silas felt his eyes widen. This was getting darker and darker.

"You see, Theia was the very last child of Gallifrey conceived before the Pythia lay down her curse of sterility. And it was not an ideal family situation, to say the least."

The Doctor laced his hands together, his brow furrowed. "Is it true then?" He asked softly. "What they say about Maren and Anteros?"

Ohila nodded. "It is true. And you can imagine how his father Apeiron might have taken that."

The Doctor's eyebrows went up. "I'd be afraid to imagine." He turned to Dayle and explained, "Apeiron was one of the founding fathers of Time Lord Society. Maren and Anteros would have been Gallifrey's own Romeo and Juliet. Instead of Montague and Capulet, we had the Time Lords and Followers of Pythia."

"And on Gallifrey, Juliet got pregnant." Sienna murmured, looking thoroughly troubled.

Ohila went on. "The day that Rassilon cast the Pythia into the abyss was the day Maren found herself to be with child. Apeiron was so enraged at what he took as a personal betrayal by his son that he threatened to erase Maren from time altogether."

"I'm guessing Anteros didn't take that too well..." Dayle murmured.

"Anteros secretly gave Maren a sacred pendant given him by his father, said goodbye, then sent her on to Karn so she would be safe from his father's wrath. He took his own life later that day. Atomized himself. Apeiron was said to have gone mad with grief." Ohila sat back thoughtfully as the room grew silent.

"And that would have been about when Rassilon became sole ruler of the Time Lords." the Doctor sighed and then looked to Dayle and shrugged. "It was the stuff of legends. Apeiron went off the deep end insisting that Time Lords should be eternal with limitless regenerations." He laughed derisively. "I suppose that when even _Rassilon_ thinks you're overreaching for power, you've gone too far."

"So Maren had a tough life. Her dude died." Savannah summarized. "Then what?"

Ohila seemed to be sizing Savannah up. Really looking at her as if for the first time. "You look very much like Theia." She commented. And for the first time, Silas saw something akin to kindness in the High Priestess's eyes. "Tell me. Did you ever have to wonder if your mother loved you? If she wanted you?"

Savannah smiled immediately and stole a glance at Dayle. "Never." she answered firmly. Dayle seemed to light up to hear that from her daughter.

Ohila seemed quietly pleased with that response. "Maren never showed Theia a mother's love. She resented her and was envious of her powers. She was a healer you know, Theia." Ohila said this as if she were proud of her old friend.

Silas thought about Sienna healing the cut on his thumb as Ohila continued.

"It seemed as though all the bad feelings came to a head the day Maren learned of the prophecy. It was like a poison in the air at the Temple of the Sacred Flame. Palpable. And then Theia was gone. And Maren just _knew_ my mother had intervened on her behalf."

"Was Ohica punished for helping Theia?" Dayle wondered.

"No." Ohila's face had grown thoughtful once more. "And Maren most certainly knew. But after. It was like she changed. Began to draw inward. My mother once said that if she didn't know better, she'd think that Maren was feeling regret about something. Sadness. Emotions she had not shown since the death of Anteros."

Ohila shifted and looked at the Doctor. "And then you came to Karn. And in the midst of it all, Maren confided in my mother. She'd been keeping an eye on Theia here on Earth. At first, she had planned to come after her. But then she grew fascinated by the life she made for herself. And when Theia passed, she looked in on her daughters, Lucy and Lenore." Ohila paused a moment and watched Dayle somberly. "She learned that Lenore was to take her own life. To kill herself as Anteros killed himself. It was like it broke something in her. Suicide again in the bloodline. Brought it all back and awakened something in her that had never healed. That was why she did not fight it. That was why she surrendered to her fate that day."

Silas blew out a breath. Seriously heavy shit. He glanced at Savannah who gave him a look like _I know, right?_

"So. The prophecy was fulfilled." Dayle said with wonder. "Theia's daughter... I mean... my _mom_. She was the reason Maren saved the Doctor?" She glanced at him in disbelief. " _How_? How can you hear something like this and not believe in fate?" She shook her head still clearly blown away by these revelations.

The Doctor sighed. "There is a difference between buying into some magical thinking, in romanticizing outcomes and simply recognizing fixed points in time."

"But Doctor. It all fell into place so neatly." Savannah reasoned. "Like a perfect circle."

Ohila was looking at the Time Lord now as well. "Tell me Doctor. Gallifrey's clandestine group of temporal troopers... the Celestial Intervention Agency I believe they're called. What is their motto?" She had an amused expression. Silas was dying to hear this.

The Doctor looked ceilingward. "The story changes, the ending stays the same."

Ohila pretended to think that over. "Well that sounds to me like they're saying a person's end is predetermined. That in the end, no matter how one tries to change things, they cannot escape their fate."

The Doctor looked a bit pissed off to be put on the spot about this. "Semantics." he grumbled.

" _Seriously_?" Dayle asked, exasperated.

The Doctor had his thinking face on again. "All of you. Into the TARDIS." he commanded.

Dayle blinked. "Uh. Ember... I can't just leave her."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not suggesting you abandon your youngest child Dayle. I've got a chalkboard in there. I think we need a visual aide to help us see where the two universes veered off." He stood and strolled right in to the cloaked TARDIS.

Dayle blinked, clearly taken aback by his gruff manner. Silas couldn't help but wonder what the man she first met had been like.

Silas stood and helped Savannah to her feet and they all filed into the console room. Silas looked around, relieved to see that everything appeared to be fixed.

"Doctor. I must take a moment to confer with my Sisters." Ohila announced. "Could you, perhaps, show me to a quiet room where I can meditate?" The Doctor disappeared into the corridor momentarily with Ohila.

When he came back, he stepped in front of a blackboard and drew a simple diagram. A short vertical line at the top that branched off to two separate lines heading down the page diagonally. On the left he wrote "Universe A", on the right "Universe B".

He held a piece of chalk and gestured inquisitively. "So where did the universes diverge? What point changed the outcome?"

Savannah scratched her head. "Do we even have enough information to determine that? Wouldn't we need to learn more about Karn in the other universe?"

"Well let's talk about the variations between the two universes that we _do_ happen to know." The Doctor suggested.

Silas was done shutting up. "Well the obvious one seems to be which generations ended up with the power of Pythia." he pointed out.

"Yes!" The Doctor agreed enthusiastically and wrote on the left side of the board: _Theia_ , _Dayle_ , _New Human Moss_. On the right side he wrote _Maren_ , _Lenore_ , _Sienna_.

"My grandma's suicide?" Savannah offered uncertainly, glancing at Dayle.

This time the Doctor simply nodded and wrote on the left side " _Lenore commits suicide_ ".

He turned back toward them. "Come on come on. What else?"

Dayle narrowed her eyes. "The Time War. The Time War didn't happen in Universe B."

"Exactly." The Doctor nodded approvingly and wrote " _The Time War_ " beneath " _Lenore commits Suicide_ ".

"So all we know for certain is that Maren is still in power on Karn in universe B." The Doctor told them, fidgeting with his chalk. "What we need to figure out is how these variations might have changed the outcome in universe B. And how that might effect Sienna."

"Well... won't it be easier to find all that out once we get back in my Universe?" Silas asked, feeling confused.

The Doctor sighed. "The TARDIS is still not 100% up for inter-universe travel I'm afraid. I hope to have the issue resolved within 24 hours. But instead of wasting our time waiting around, it would behoove us to have some theories as to what we're dealing with."

Savannah stood and walked to the board, tilted her head to one side. "One good question would be, _why_ didn't Maren die saving the Doctor in Universe B?"

The Doctor stood nearby nodding thoughtfully. "Well, one possibility is that since the Maren in Universe B has the power of Pythia, she wasn't in danger of dying by giving up a little bit of elixir."

"Also, Lenore didn't kill herself so nothing would have sent her into a downward spiral..." Silas considered.

"So what if the prophecy was the same in the other universe, only it was destined to play out differently." Dayle suggested. "Like Ohila said: the story is different, the end's the same."

Savannah's big brown eyes seemed to grow even wider. "You're thinking it's Sienna's Doctor that's meant to end Maren's life in that universe." she guessed. "And Sienna is what precipitates it."

The Doctor looked intrigued by everyone's thoughts. "You're all surprisingly good at this. Even you Friendzone."

When the Doctor turned his back, Silas flipped him the bird. Childish? Maybe. Savannah just shook her head at him and giggled.

Dayle sighed. "I'm going to check on Ember and then I really should head in to work for a few hours at least. Vannah you'll still need to keep an eye on her while I'm gone."

"I could always ask Auntie Ohila to babysit." Savannah offered innocently.

Dayle took her shoe off and threw it at Savannah.

* * *

 ** _I actually drew out the diagram that the Doctor drew on the chalkboard. lol I wish I could paste it here for the reader's benefit. I hope things aren't getting too crazy confusing. Stick with me. Like the Doctor, there's a method to my madness. ;) -Ruinous79_**


	23. Chapter 23

**_"The universe is full of coincidence._**

 ** _It's what keeps everything ticking along nicely."_**

 ** _-Fifth Doctor (from The Church and the Crown)_**

* * *

 _Moira Swamp, Karn_

"Well, all I can say is I'm sure glad it's daytime." Sienna commented as they walked along the bank of the swamp. "Because this would be pretty damn creepy at night." Her eyes wandered all around them as she took in the swamp with it's rust red water and the surrounding forest with its twisted silver trees. The light from two suns streamed through the branches that were decorated with large white leaves.

"At the rate you walk, we may be here come nightfall." he commented with a small smile. Like he was funny. She narrowed her eyes and shifted the bulky backpack she wore. But said nothing.

Sienna was well aware that her attitude had sucked for the past couple days and she felt bad about it. She was _really_ trying to be more pleasant today. It occurred to her that she hadn't smoked a cigarette since she'd been abducted by the Master and was likely suffering nicotine withdrawals. That meant she had to make a concerted effort not to snap on him. Him being snarky was not making it easy.

The landscape on this planet was at once beautiful and horrid. Plant life was sparse as they'd hiked through the wastelands. Like a desert with red sand and outcroppings of red rock formations all around. It appeared as though they'd landed in a sort of canyon. After a few hours of that, the terrain started to change. Plant life became more plentiful and certainly more bizarre. Oddly, white seemed to be a common color for foliage here. When they'd reached the swamp area and took in the forest of white, Sienna had gasped. It was so _wrong_ looking but totally breathtaking.

Thus far they had only needed to skirt around the swamp, picking over shrubs and downed branches. The part that had the Doctor concerned was at least another hour ahead and offered no such dry ground to walk. He told Sienna that he had no idea how deep it was either. Or what creatures might inhabit it. Sienna was feeling anxious about it. Just the thought of touching the rusty water made her want to take a shower in bleach.

"So... what exactly is your plan on getting Ohica to talk to you? Are you just gonna wander into their cave and interrupt one of their voodoo parties? Call her outside for a chat?"

The Doctor laughed. "No I intend to do a little surveillance from a distance and attempt to catch her when she's outside the cave alone. I have the advantage of being a Time Lord and the Sisterhood's telepathy has no influence on me. They can neither detect me or play games with my mind."

They walked on a ways. "I know I saw a few lizard looking things back in the Wastelands, but I haven't seen any critters around since we've entered the swamp. Is there much wildlife on Karn?" she wondered.

"There are various species here on Karn. And the fact that we haven't seen a single one in this forest actually has me a bit concerned." He was ahead of her so she couldn't see his face, but he sounded pretty serious.

"Why's that?" she wondered, her anxiety ratcheting up a notch.

"Well. It leaves one to wonder. Is something larger eating them?" This he said with a touch of humor. Since his sense of humor was a bit odd, that didn't exactly provide Sienna with much comfort.

"Lovely thought." she muttered under her breath.

"Of course, it could always be the swamp itself. Perhaps the water is poisonous. Or even the plant life." he pointed out.

Sienna shook her head. "Who the hell is Moira anyway? I'd like to have a word with her about her swamp."

The Doctor chuckled. "Moira translates to 'fate' actually."

"Fitting." she murmured. "Fate does have a pretty fucked up sense of humor."

"For the most part, we have control of the direction of our own lives." he asserted. "It's based on the choices we make as well as the circumstances we're given."

Sienna made a derisive sound. "Oh please! You're going to tell me that with all that's happened, you don't believe in fate?"

The Doctor sighed like a teacher talking to a student with a learning disability. "Sienna, there are perfectly logical explanations for everything that's happened."

She stopped walking. "Dude. Explain how the hell it just so happened that the Doctor from the other universe met my mom, then somehow formed a telepathic link with the Dayle in the other universe. Explain how you happened to meet me walking in the woods one day and it turns out I'm part Gallifreyan. Those are pretty big coincidences." She crossed her arms.

He had stopped and leaned against a tree. "As far as the connection between the two Dayles, that was likely just a phenomenon known as Quantum Entanglement. Two linked particles interacting over a great distance. It's been proven time and again in science. There's certainly nothing supernatural about it."

Sienna narrowed her eyes. "And meeting me?" she insisted.

The Doctor just shrugged. "Sometimes things are just coincidences. They happen just so and there is no explanation. The universe is full of such synchronicities that are meaningless. So many spend their lives looking for patterns that simply don't exist."

"There are many geniuses throughout the course of history who were fatalists you know." she pointed out, resenting his condescending tone. "Einstein. Nietzsche."

"There are many intelligent people who take the bible literally as well. That fact doesn't lend credence to _it_." He raised his eyebrows and started walking again.

Goddamn, Sienna sure could go for a cigarette. She thought it best to keep her mouth shut for a while. Before she lit him up for being a smug prick.

After a time the Doctor came to an abrupt stop and she nearly ran right into him.

"This is where the swamp widens." he sighed.

Sienna managed to squeeze in beside him and saw what he was talking about.

" _Well fuck me sideways_..." Sienna uttered, dumbfounded.

They were standing right on the edge of where land disappeared. As far as the eye could see there was rust red water. Trees grew directly out of it with no dry ground anywhere. The water was so opaque, it was impossible to determine the depth.

The Doctor removed his hat and blew out a breath.

"I _know_ you don't think I'm swimming in _that._ " Sienna had been one hell of a good sport all morning with the hiking and the heavy backpack and his smart ass mouth. Here she was drawing the line.

He shook his head. "Probably _not_ the best idea. There's no telling just what's in that water."

Sienna felt relief wash over her. She took off the backpack, dropped it on the ground and sat on it. At least she could take a short break while they solved this problem.

"So, what now blondie?" she asked. She couldn't resist injecting a bit of mockery in her tone. Mr. Know-it-all.

The Doctor was peering off into the trees to their right along the water line.

"Hold tight... I think I see something." He replaced his hat, squeezed around her and carefully made his way through the thick brush.

She watched him curiously as he trekked further and further away. She sat there alone in the near silence, suddenly feeling very exposed. She could've sworn she felt eyes on the back of her neck. She turned quickly and thought she saw a flash of movement. Her heart began to pound. Her eyes surveyed the trees. But there was nothing there.

Sienna stood and picked up the backpack. No way in hell was she sitting around waiting to be eaten by something. She slung the heavy pack on her back and glanced behind her once more before starting off in the direction the Doctor had gone.

 _Where the hell was he?_ She had just managed to hop over a downed silver tree when she saw him heading back her way.

"Good news." he informed her as he got closer.

"Umm, is it that you have cyborg eyes? How the hell could you possibly have seen something _that_ far away?" Sienna asked, exasperated.

"I promise you'll be pleased." he said, sounding proud of himself. He grabbed her by the hand and led her in the direction from which he had just came.

They made their way down a slight decline and there at the water's edge was a small, roughly hewn row boat.

"Seriously! A boat? You found us a _boat_?" Sienna was so ecstatic that she wasn't really thinking when she jumped up and kissed him right on the lips.

He just stood there blinking for a moment like he didn't know how to respond.

She immediately regretted the spontaneous gesture. "Uh. Sorry. Got a little carried away." Sienna felt like an idiot. Way to muddy the waters of an already ridiculous situation.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Right. Shall we?" he motioned to the tiny vessel.

* * *

The boat didn't look like much but it definitely served it's purpose. Before too long they rounded some trees and saw Solon's castle just ahead.

"What are the odds that a boat would be sitting around in a deserted swamp? Just waiting to be found." Sienna asked.

The Doctor knew where this was going and rolled his eyes. "It wasn't fate. Clearly someone just happened to leave it there."

Sienna smirked at him. "Who? Do you think the Sisterhood enjoy a little swamp slummin?"

"I highly doubt that. They rarely venture far from their system of caves." he muttered as he rowed through the water. It seemed to be rather deep in some places and the boat moved through the swamp quite nicely.

"So what then? Was it left behind by Dr. Frankenstein?" Sienna wondered, looking confused.

The Doctor sighed, his brow furrowed. "Couldn't be. That's been far too long ago. The wood would be rotted."

Sienna's eyes got large. "Wait a minute. Are you saying that there's someone else living here on Karn?"

He shrugged. "It seems the only probable explanation. Some life form advanced enough to fashion a small watercraft seems to reside here in the swamp. It would explain the lack of wild life too."

Sienna's eyes darted all around them. "I swear I felt someone watching me when you disappeared a minute ago." She shivered. "Please tell me we didn't just steal some murdery swamp zombie's row boat."

The Doctor laughed out loud. "It seems it was our destiny."

She glared at him and crossed her arms. "You're hilarious."

It wasn't long before they reached the opposite bank. The Doctor hopped out and pulled the boat halfway on land before reaching out to help Sienna out. He was relieved to note there were still hours of daylight left.

They walked up a gradual hill and reached a bridge that took them directly to the castle.

"Okay. Tell me again why this is such a good idea." Sienna murmured.

"You'll be protected from the Sisterhood here. The very walls themselves are telepathy proof. It was how Solon got away with all his nefarious activities for so long." They'd reached the front door and he tried the handle. The door pushed open with a creak.

They were standing in the entrance hall and Sienna was clinging to his arm. He could tell this was going to be a hard sell. He sighed.

"Come on Sienna." he encouraged gently. "Let's find a comfortable spot for you to rest. I'm sure there's a bed chamber with a fireplace. I'll build a fire and you can relax while I'm gone."

She looked up at him and asked flatly "What exactly did that maniac do in this house".

The Doctor didn't wish to scare her further, but neither did he feel she needed things sugarcoated.

"Solon had his assistant collect body parts from beings whose spaceships crashed into Karn. Which happened frequently for a time due to some magnetic field set up to keep crafts from successfully landing here." The Doctor was guiding Sienna through the castle as he spoke. He collected a torch along the way when he realized no electricity remained in the place.

"So he just sewed up a bunch of mixed body parts from different species?" Sienna asked as he lit the torch with matches from his pocket.

"Indeed. Put together a grotesque patchwork humanoid creature." They'd reached a hallway. "Fully functioning at that. It was able to move of its own volition."

Sienna gasped, disgusted. "I thought you said it didn't have a head."

He shrugged. "It didn't." They passed a spiral staircase leading downward. He pointed. "That's a dungeon just down those stairs. My companion and I spent a couple hours locked away there."

"Ah memories." Sienna said dryly.

They reached an iron-bound door that was half open. He peeked in and was pleased with what he found. "See here. This room looks perfectly serviceable."

They'd reached a bed chamber complete with furniture. Everything was a bit dusty but in surprisingly good shape. There was even a fireplace.

"Oh man. Is this Dr. Frankenstein's _bedroom_?" she shivered. "I don't even want to touch anything in here."

The Doctor sighed and got very serious with her. "Sienna... I'm aware this isn't the ideal situation. I know it's no spa weekend, and the accommodations leave something to be desired. But you'll be safe." He looked into her frightened brown eyes intently. "I need you to do this. It's the only way."

She closed her eyes for a moment and made a frustrated noise. When she opened them she nodded. "I know. I'm not trying to be difficult. But this really, _truly_ sucks." She wandered around the room looking things over tentatively.

In that moment, the Doctor felt terrible for her. She hadn't asked for any of this. He wished he could just put his arms around her, touch her just to provide some measure of comfort, but feared it would only complicate things. After the spontaneous kiss in the swamp she'd looked like she wanted to disappear. He was beginning to think he'd been wrong about her still being interested in him.

"Alright." Sienna conceded. "Get me some more light in this room and then get goin while there's still some daylight left. I'm about ready for this nightmare to be over."

The Doctor set out to find some firewood and kindling for the fire place. He also found a couple more torches in the hallway and even some candles in the dining room.

He got the fire lit for her and set the torches in wall mounts. Between the fireplace, the torches and the candles, the room was now very bright.

"I expect I should be gone no longer than 4 or 5 hours. Why don't you try to rest and before you know it, I'll be back. " He gestured toward the large bed.

Sienna's lip curled. "There is no way in hell I am taking a nap in Frankenstein's bed." she shuddered.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Alright. Well... just stay put and you'll be fine." He turned to go.

"Doctor." she whispered.

He turned back. Her expression was serious.

"Please be careful."

He looked into her eyes and nodded, then headed for the door.

Compared to their morning's journey, the Doctor didn't have far to go. In less than two hours, he reached the small red mountain of rock near the Sisterhood's cave. He climbed up quite easily and when he reached the apex, ducked down and looked over to the other side. It was still daylight but there was nobody around outside the cave. He sighed, wondering his next move.

"Hello Doctor."

He very nearly lost his footing and fell backwards down the mountain when the woman's voice came from just below him.

He blinked and looked down in that direction.

There was a rocky outcropping perhaps 3 meters below the mountain's top. Its surface was roughly the size of a sofa. A woman wearing the familiar red robe was sitting casually at the edge. Her feet dangling down. Her face was turned up toward him. It was Ohica.

He was speechless.

"Meet me down at the bottom." she instructed expressionlessly. "The rest of the Sisterhood is in emergency meditation session. They won't miss me for another several hours." She hopped down to the next level of rock effortlessly, then turned and climbed down.

The Doctor just shook his head in disbelief and followed suit.

When he reached the bottom, he approached Ohica cautiously. She stood in the shadow of the mountain turned away from him, looking off toward the cave's mouth.

He cleared his throat. "You were expecting me." he surmised.

She didn't turn. "For ages." she divulged. "It was foretold."

The Doctor sighed. "Ohica, the Master-"

"Has been dealt with." she finally turned toward him. She had aged little since he'd last seen her, but there was something in her eyes that the years had added. It looked like sorrow. "He arrived in your TARDIS two days ago. I sent him on a wild goose chase to track down you and Sienna." She grinned. "I may have misled him about which direction he should go."

"Where _is_ my TARDIS?" he demanded. If it was operating at all, it would be much easier to get back to Solon's castle and Sienna. Even if it wasn't in top form it should be capable of a short hop.

"Your TARDIS is safe, just there around the bend." she assured him. "The Master won't be going anywhere in it." She reached into her robe and pulled out a TARDIS component.

She had the Klister valve. Frankly he was impressed she knew how to disable a TARDIS. Her method of choice was quite effective.

"But neither will you." she added, her unfathomable eyes narrowed.


	24. Chapter 24

**_"Your wide eyes are the only light_**

 ** _I know from extinguished constellations."_**

 ** _-Pablo Neruda_**

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Universe A_

The Doctor was laying on the floor of the control deck tinkering with something beneath the console. Ohila had yet to return from her meditation. Silas had gone to check on Ember for her and Savannah felt like being nosy.

She made her way over and leaned against the console. "So..."

"Yes Savannah. What is it?" the Doctor replied, his voice muffled.

"You and my mom-" she started before he quickly interrupted.

"...are none of your business." he told her firmly.

Savannah crossed her arms. "Um. I do think my mom's happiness is my business. All I'm wondering is... how do you think she feels... about the, uh...change?"

The Doctor stopped tinkering, seemed to think for a moment, then gruffly responded, "Ask her yourself." and went back to what he was doing.

Savannah rolled her eyes. Clearly she'd touched a nerve.

Silas came back into the TARDIS. "She's totally passed out in your mom's bed. Apparently it'll take more than a visit from outer space to ruin that kid's night." He chuckled fondly.

Savannah grinned. She really did love that girl.

"Any progress Doc?" Silas called to the Doctor.

"Don't interrupt him." Savannah advised. "He's all in his feelins over my mom."

"You know, it's awfully difficult to concentrate with all these interruptions!" the Doctor growled. "If you can't be useful, go find something to occupy yourselves elsewhere."

Silas and Savannah both giggled. "Yep. Totally in his fee fees." Silas whispered.

" _Out_!" the Doctor shouted.

"Oh shit..." Savannah snickered and grabbed Silas by the hand, dragging him out the door and into her living room.

They sat down on the couch together still laughing a bit.

"Do you really think your mom could be _interested_ in his grouchy ass?" Silas wondered, probably only half joking.

Savannah shrugged. "I guess it really depends if she still sees _him_ somewhere in there."

"Well yeah but... I mean, it's still a completely different person." He was studying her as he talked, Savannah realized. "Like... a totally different personality. A totally different outlook. A whole new dynamic."

She felt herself flush when she got the feeling he wasn't talking about the Doctor and her mom anymore.

He was still studying her face, a smile playing at the corners of his beautiful mouth. She felt her heart stutter a bit under his scrutiny. She had a bad feeling, that was kind of a good feeling, that this was going somewhere it shouldn't go.

"You know, I finally realized what it is..." he remarked.

She gave him a _what the fuck_ look. "What _what_ is?"

"The difference. The thing about your face that is so different from Sienna." He had moved slightly closer to her on the sofa and she realized his hand had materialized on her knee. "I've been trying to pinpoint it all week."

"Silas..." she began, with no actual idea where the rest of the sentence was headed.

The hand not on her knee reached up and brushed a strand of hair off her forehead, tucked it behind her ear. "It's your eyes." He said softly.

"My _eyes_?" Savannah asked, a bit thrown. "Aren't my eyes exactly the same as hers?"

Silas shrugged. "Well, obviously they're the same color. The same shape and all. But _your_ eyes..." His brow furrowed, like he was contemplating some great mystery. "They're sort of... I don't even know how to describe it."

His face seemed to be drifting closer and closer to hers as he spoke. And Savannah knew that she needed to put a stop to this because it was too weird and a bad idea on so many levels. Yet she stayed still, feeling frozen to the spot. His nearness was doing things to her body that she had never felt with Evan.

The hand on her knee slid up to her thigh. Her breathing was coming a bit faster the same way his was. He didn't have the air of a man trying to seduce a woman. It was like he was being drawn in by her gravity. Like he didn't know what he was doing until he did it. Like it was just something... inevitable.

His lips were so very close to hers. "It's something about the light in your eyes." he whispered. "They're so dark but it's like they're lit from within. Like stars in the night." His lips brushed against hers and his hand cradled her face gently.

Savannah felt herself melt against him. Let herself fall into him. One of her hands went up of its own volition and clasped onto the wrist of the hand that held her face. Like she was intending to stop him, but instead the hand just held on for dear life.

And despite all the obvious problems with their current circumstances (and there were many) it felt _so_ right. It felt somehow _obvious_. And soon Savannah's other hand came up and held onto his face as the kiss became more and more serious.

She didn't know if it was all the hormones running rampant through her body but she was getting _dangerously_ turned on just from his kiss. She was getting the feeling that this kid might have started something that he wasn't fully prepared for. Because she was quite frankly ready to jump his bones.

A voice seemed to come from out of nowhere. "Hey Friendzone, I could use your help with..." The Doctor had just walked out of his TARDIS and abruptly stopped talking when he saw what they were up to.

The two immediately flew apart from each other like little kids caught doing something bad. The Doctor gave them a look like he was _so_ done and turned and headed back into the TARDIS.

Savannah felt like she was blushing from her toes to the roots of her hair. _What the hell had just happened?_ Her heart was still hammering in her chest and her lips were tingling. She looked over at Silas sitting on the other end of the sofa now. He looked a bit dazed himself. They sat in silence for a moment, collecting themselves.

"Well." He said suddenly. "That was... crazy." He gave a little nervous laugh. "I didn't actually mean for that to happen..."

"Yeah." Savannah said in a strange voice. She cleared her throat, trying to sound normal. "That was probably a stupid thing for us to do." She peered at him, awaiting his reaction.

He looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Savannah, that was fucking mind blowing." he shook his head. "There was nothing stupid about that." The way he was looking at her made her want to leap across the sofa and climb on top of him.

Instead she made a little sound of derision. "Silas. That was _totally_ stupid." She stood up and quickly headed down the hall to check on Ember. Anything to get away from him. She walked into her mom's dark room and saw her sister splayed across the middle of her Dayle's bed. Her curly blonde hair was mussed and her chubby little face looked positively angelic.

Savannah took the moment to find a bit of peace. To relax. She couldn't behave irrationally with guys anymore. It wasn't just about her anymore. It was time for her to start acting like a grown up.

She walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She turned and found Silas standing right there in the hallway. It startled her.

"What the hell are you doing?" she whispered fiercely, getting flustered all over again.

He just walked right up to her, grabbed her by the face and kissed her like he meant it. He pressed her up against the wall. Once more she didn't resist. She kissed him right back, even made a little sound of pleasure when his hands wandered down her body and rested on her ass. She very nearly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the hall into her room. But then reality smacked her again. And she finally pushed him away.

"Okay. Just cut it out!" she shouted.

"Shh. You'll wake your sister." he whispered, clearly amused.

Savannah glared at him, then grabbed him and pulled him instead back toward the living room. "I'm pretty sure the Doctor needs your help with something." He stopped short in the living room and she motioned toward the TARDIS impatiently.

Silas seemed to be appraising her, trying to determine something. "Vannah..." he began.

"Don't." She warned. "Let's just give each other some space until we cool down a bit. We can't do this."

She turned and walked into the TARDIS, her heart still hammering against her ribcage. The topic was closed, she thought to herself resolutely. She had handled it like an adult.

Silas was right behind her. And now he was pissed. "Hey. You don't just get to decide that you don't have to listen to the other person's thoughts on a matter."

She turned, ready for a fight. "Actually, I do. That's what walking away is for."

"Can you two please take the domestic business elsewhere?" The Doctor chimed in from over by the console. He sounded majorly annoyed.

"Well, I think that was pretty damn rude." Silas told her, his stunning green eyes looking hurt and angry.

Savannah glanced over at the Doctor who was standing with his arms crossed, taking in their little spat.

"Do we have to do this right now?" she whispered fiercely.

Silas gave a little humorless laugh and threw his hands up. "Nah. Forget it. I'm tired of dealing with screwed up women and their mixed signals." he headed for the corridor.

She started after him, officially offended. "Well what the hell do you expect? You're from a different goddamn universe! I think that takes long distance relationship to a whole different fucking level, don't you?"

"Language!" the Doctor shouted.

Silas turned back toward her. "You know, it's not every day you make a connection with someone like that. I think that's a pretty big deal. But if you just want to ignore it, well that's just fine with me."

Savannah scoffed at him. "Well jeez Silas... I don't know. You seem to connect to women pretty easily. Particularly ones that look just like me. And I'm definitely not interested in being a substitute for some chick who doesn't want you."

That was a direct hit. His eyes went wide for a moment and then he just looked at her like he couldn't believe she'd said that. Then he turned and walked away from her.

Savannah stood there with her heart racing. She couldn't believe she'd said that either. _What a total bitch._ She felt tears sting her eyes and she put her face in her hands.

The Doctor cleared his throat and she turned around. His expression was hard to read. She figured he would tell her what a total jerk she'd been. She certainly deserved it. Or he would say something totally unrelated since the drama clearly made him uncomfortable.

Instead he just studied her quietly for a moment, then said. "You didn't really mean that."

She shook her head, unable to speak. Her heart was somewhere in her throat. So much had happened so fast.

"I don't exactly have the most sensitive way with people." He told her and gave a small smile. The understatement of the year, she thought, by the guy who'd nicknamed Silas 'friendzone'. "But even I know that was rather harsh." he crossed his arms and looked at her.

"I don't know why I just said that." she said, feeling about three inches tall.

"Why don't you go tell _him_ that you didn't really mean it." he suggested. His eyes, she realized, were kind as well as wise.

She nodded and headed into the corridor. She ran right into Ohila. Savannah took a step back, adrenaline suddenly coursing through her.

"You have no reason to fear me Savannah." Ohila said. "I wish no harm to come to you." The strange woman gestured toward Savannah's abdomen. "Or your unborn child."

Savannah chewed her lip. "Oh well. Uh... thank you?"

Ohila took a step toward her suddenly and grabbed her hand. "That is why I must give something to you. And you must tell _no one_."

* * *

Silas had started walking down the corridor blindly. He felt like such an idiot. Of _course_ kissing Savannah had been a stupid idea. Of _course_ nothing good could come of it.

Yeah, it had been amazing. Nothing he'd done with a girl before had come anywhere close to it. Even when he'd kissed Sienna that one time, it hadn't been so intense.

Silas leaned against the wall, his jaw clenched. Savannah had been a real dick to him just now. He didn't deserve to be talked to that way. The thought that Savannah might actually think he was just using her as some alternate to Sienna definitely bothered him. It bothered him a lot. Because it just wasn't true.

Sure, obviously, he'd noticed her from the start because she had that same beautiful face. But she wasn't Sienna.

Sienna was awesome and funny and a kickass friend. He had been hung up on her since they'd met. And he'd had it bad. He didn't think anything could possibly help him get over it. And then he met Savannah. And while he was still worried about Sienna and missed her and wanted her back safe, it didn't hurt to think about her anymore. She didn't own his heart anymore.

"Silas." He looked up, surprised to find Savannah had actually come after him. She looked deeply troubled.

He sighed. "What?"

She shook her head. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded. That was a terrible thing to say." She looked like she was on the verge of tears which automatically took his anger down a few notches.

He looked down at his shoes. "Yeah, well. It's also total bullshit." He glanced back up at her and looked her dead in the eye. "This thing with you has nothing to do with her. And I think you know that."

Savannah made a sound of frustration and put her face in her hands. "I don't know _what_ I know anymore. There is entirely too much strange happening and I am too fucking tired." She sighed. "Ohila's gone."

Silas raised his eyebrows. "Just now? How the hell did she leave? Please tell me there was a broom involved."

Savannah smiled for the first time. "Sorry to disappoint you. It was something called a vortex manipulator." Her smile dropped as she seemed to think of something. She looked down at her hands. "She gave me..." She stopped short suddenly and forced another smile. "Did I mention I'm tired?"

Silas knew she'd been about to tell him something, then changed her mind. He wouldn't press her on it. She would tell him eventually if she really wanted to.

He headed over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you to bed. You look like death warmed over." They headed back down the corridor.

"Well thanks a lot." she giggled.

He gave her a smartass grin. "Don't mention it."

They reached the console room. The Doctor was back on the floor with his head under the console.

She walked over and looked down at him. "Doctor, I'm going to sleep. I imagine my mom will be back before too long."

He didn't move from where he was. "Yes, get some rest. I think I may have her ready to go by morning."

Silas walked her back out into the living room but when they reached the hall she turned and stopped him with a hand on his chest. "I'm going to my bedroom to go to sleep and it's a real bad idea for you to come down this dark hallway with me. Because I'm not sure I'll be able to stop myself from doing something I could regret." She blushed at this admission.

He gazed at her seriously. "I'm not trying to take advantage of anything. I won't try to kiss you again. In fact, the only way _anything_ will ever happen between us is if you instigate it." And he meant it.

She seemed speechless for a moment. Then asked, "So what are you about to do? You going to go sleep on Ember's bed?"

He shrugged, feigning innocence. "Unless you need someone to protect you from all these pesky aliens. I'd be happy to keep you company." He knew she wouldn't go for it, but he liked the blush that crept over her face at the suggestion.

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "What happened to you not trying anything with me?"

"No. I said I wouldn't _kiss_ you. I didn't say anything about cuddling. I will cuddle the hell out of you. I am a champion cuddler."

She giggled, her brown eyes sparkling. Then she shrugged. "Alright then." She grabbed him by the hand and tugged him down the hallway toward her room.

He felt pretty pleased with himself. The first time the offer of cuddling had gotten him into a pretty girl's bed. Not that he'd ever tried that line before.

Once in her room, she fell onto the bed fully dressed. She looked like she was about to pass out the second her head hit the pillow. He walked over and pulled her shoes off for her, then kicked off his own and climbed into the bed beside her. He covered them both with the quilt.

She turned on to her side facing away from him, backed up against him, then grabbed his arm and pulled it over her. "Good night Silas." she sighed contentedly.

He was all too aware of how her cute round ass was pressed up against him and that his arm laying over her was grazing one of her breasts. Her hair smelled amazing and the sight of her smooth neck so close to his lips was a major temptation. But he knew what she wanted from him, what she was using him for tonight. He was just the big spoon. He smiled and closed his eyes. It felt kind of nice to be used. He relaxed and tried not to think about what all he really wanted to do with her.

* * *

 ** _The characters have managed to behave themselves up to now. The next chapter has other plans. This story is about to be changed to a Mature rating for future naughtiness. Keep an eye out for chapter 25 sometime tomorrow along with a shiny new M rating. -Ruinous79_**


	25. Chapter 25

**Adult content warning for provocative foreplay.** **Things are about to get dangerously hot.** **-Ruinous79**

* * *

" _ **Those who restrain desire**_

 _ **do so because theirs is weak enough**_

 _ **to be restrained."**_

 _ **-William Blake**_

* * *

 _Solon's Castle, Karn_

Sienna thought she might lose her mind. When the Doctor's 'four or five hours' were up, there was still no sign of him.

She discovered that when one was abandoned in a creepy ass deserted castle on an alien planet, one goes through three stages.

The first stage was boredom. It didn't take long before she realized she'd just about give her left foot for a game of Flappy Bird on her iPhone. For a couple hours, Sienna had busied herself wandering the entire castle. Even though daylight reached much of the castle's interior through windows, she brought along a torch in case she came across a less than well-lit area.

Once she'd taken the grand tour, she headed back to the well lit bed chamber with the fireplace. She settled herself on a cushioned window seat that looked relatively free of monster guts and leaned back against the wall. She thought maybe if she took a nap, by the time she woke up, the Doctor would be back. She curled up and was soon fast asleep. She woke up feeling rather refreshed. According to the enormous grandfather clock (that surprisingly still worked) she had been asleep for exactly twelve minutes. She was so frustrated by this revelation she actually stood and kicked the stupid clock a few times as hard as she could.

Which led directly to stage two: Rage. It started out as (fairly) rational irritability. The smug clock with its exasperating news. The stupid window seat that was the opposite of comfortable. Then she came to the realization that the castle had an unpleasant smell. Solon's Castle smelled like Solon's ass. Six hours in, Sienna was muttering expletives under her breath about the Doctor and this mess he'd gotten her into. With his stupid haircut and his stupid pants and his stupid celery. By hour seven, she was cursing all of Gallifrey and even using Rassilon's name in vain.

The third and final stage arrived along with nightfall. Fear. The window she lounged near looked out over the swamp she and the Doctor had traversed that very morning. If the swamp had been eerie in daylight, in the dark it was positively chilling. Every few moments she'd see movement out there and her heart would practically leap out of her chest. She just knew somewhere out there was a pissed off swamp zombie looking for his rowboat.

Before long, the fire in the hearth died down and though the Doctor had brought up extra wood and kindling, Sienna wasn't exactly sure how to get it going again. The darker it got outside, the more the shadows jumped around from the flames of the torches and candles in the room. It was like a fucking horror movie in here. And while the room she was in was certainly spooky, she sure as hell wasn't about to head out into the dark stone walled corridors looking for another chill spot. She would just have to stay put. And have faith that the Doctor would return at some point...

Even though she hadn't eaten since early morning and there were plenty of food rations in the two backpacks, she found she had no appetite. She was beginning to get quite worried, afraid of what may have happened to him. Out there in the dark all alone. Sienna looked out the window, wondering if it was selfish to let him put himself at risk while she stayed hidden away. As much as she'd like to blame him, she was the target. She was the abomination. She thought of his kind face and frowned. What if she never saw him again? The terrible thought only further fed into her fear.

Approaching the tenth hour, she found she could no longer sit still in the crappy window seat. She paced mostly, avoiding the darker corners of the room. The night sounds in this place were haunting. The winds had picked up again and as they came blowing through the canyon, the ancient windows would rattle almost violently. Each time it happened, Sienna nearly jumped out of her skin. And then there was the realization that she wasn't exactly alone. It seemed that even Karn had rodents, or at least an equivalent. Sienna could hear them scuttling across the wood planks of the floor and occasionally squeaking.

And then she started hearing a rhythmic tapping sound.

Tap tap tap _tap._ Tap tap tap _tap._

She tried to ignore it and get lost in her mind but the noise was much too deliberate to be the wind or a four legged creature. And it continued.

Tap tap tap _tap._ Tap tap tap _tap._

Adrenaline was coursing through her system by this point. Her mind was no longer on murdery swamp zombies. What she feared most now was that the Master or some member of the Sisterhood had found her.

Her heart in her throat, Sienna snatched a torch from the wall mount and crept to the iron bound door. When she entered the dank hallway, she caught a chill in the air and shivered. The tapping seemed to echo all around her as she moved quickly across the wood planked floor of the corridor. She knew that whoever was responsible for the tapping had to be fucking with her. Playing mind games. It wasn't exactly the act of a stealthy intruder.

When she reached the end of the corridor, she realized at last the direction from which the disturbance was originating. Off to her right, down the set of spiral stairs. In the fucking dungeon. Sienna drew in a shaky breath. If this had simply been the Doctor returning, no way would he be down there. There was no logical reason for _anyone_ to be down there.

The Doctor's stories from earlier began to haunt her. The awful experiments and sheer evil that had taken place in this castle. Images filled her mind of a headless creature with cobbled together body parts. A fucking talking brain in a jar.

Tap tap tap _tap._

She honestly couldn't decide which prospect was more terrifying; cowering in the bed chamber waiting for someone (or something) to come get her, or investigating the dungeon.

She sighed. Sienna couldn't just sit back and let shit _happen_ to her. She'd rather be proactive than a sitting duck. Now if she could find some type of weapon. She found a small bed chamber with a crumbling fireplace right across from the stairs. There was a cast off fire poker laying in the hearth. She supposed it'd have to do.

She snatched it up with the hand not already holding the torch and hefted it a bit, testing its weight. Yeah. It'd definitely knock the piss out of someone. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a breath to steel herself, then headed down the nightmare of a spiral staircase. She tried to remind herself what the Doctor had told her about bravery. That by facing her fear, she was actually showing courage.

At the bottom of the stairs, she paused at the iron bound door and listened.

Tap tap tap _tap._

Despite the fact that she hadn't been to church in 15 years and she'd _never_ set foot in a Catholic church, Sienna leaned the fire poker against the wall for a second, and crossed herself before pushing the heavy door open.

She brandished the fire poker and shined the torch all around. And there in the far corner, beneath a heavy wooden table, was the culprit responsible. Sienna dropped the fire poker and it clattered to the stone floor of the dungeon. The sound didn't deter the little creature that was making all that ruckus. It looked something like a cross between a raccoon and a woodpecker. And it was repeatedly pecking at the wooden table.

Tap tap tap _tap._

 _Seriously_?

She didn't know what these creatures were called on Karn, or if they were hunted for food but at the moment Sienna wanted to barbeque the little bastard who had almost made her pee her pants.

She left the poker behind and stomped back up the stairs muttering curse words all the way. She got all the way down the corridor, nearly back to her bed chamber hiding spot when she realized a new sound had emerged in the castle. She froze and felt her old friend adrenaline assault her once more. Someone was in the bed chambers. She actually heard foot steps in there.

She couldn't _believe_ she'd left the fire poker downstairs. That lame ass animal had distracted her and she'd let down her guard. She started to back away down the hall.

Of course, if she was honest, the fire poker wouldn't have done much good anyway.

If it was the Master, she was done. He would either paralyze her with his device or use his mind control skills on her once more.

If it was one of the witchy Sisterhood... well there was no telling what they might do to her.

Sienna felt tears burn her eyes as the iron bound door creaked open. She just kept backing away, her heart thumping furiously, sure she'd finally had it.

"There you are Sienna!" The Doctor greeted cheerfully. Like totally normally. Like it was just any old day of the week and they'd gotten separated in Walmart and lo and behold, he found her in the pickle aisle.

Sienna's eyes narrowed. Her voice came out low and deadly. "Are you fucking _kidding me right now_!? Where the _hell_ have you been!?" she demanded. She rushed forward and punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

His eyes went wide. " _Ow_!" he shouted in disbelief. "What was _that_ for?" He rubbed at his shoulder and looked at her like she was out of her actual mind. One would be forgiven for assuming that under the circumstances. She had tears pouring down her face and was quite clearly ready to claw his eyes out she was so angry.

"I've been here alone in this fucking _horror movie set_ for like _ten_ _hours._ I was lonely and bored out of my mind and worrying that the _worst_ must've happened to you..." she took in a shaking breath and a little sob escaped.

The Doctor blinked rapidly, clearly unnerved by her emotional outburst.

"And _then_ I was certain I was going to be murdered by a goddamn swamp zombie, that is if I hadn't already been found by the Master or the Sisterhood." She sniffled a few times unable to stop crying.

"Sienna, just c-" It was obvious he'd started to say "calm down," then very wisely thought better of it and said, "Just take a slow deep breath."

He had his hands out like he was dealing with an armed crazy person. He was half right. It was lucky for him she had left that fire poker in the dungeon.

"I even thought that the headless spare parts creature was down in the dungeon ready to rip my head off. But _nope._ It was only some ridiculous _alien raccoon_ with a fucking _beak_ , just peckin away at some wood." By this point, Sienna realized she was practically screeching but she didn't care.

The Doctor nodded in recognition. "Probably something called a Procyopicus." he offered. "Quite harmless actually."

 _Wrong. Thing. To Say._

Sienna threw down her torch and shoved the Doctor hard into the wall. " _Jesus tap-dancing_ _Christ_!" She screamed up into his face, her hands gripped tightly onto the lapels of his coat. "Do you have _any_ mode other than condescending, know-it-all dickhead?"

The Doctor's face seemed to explore the entire spectrum of emotions in the span of just a few seconds. First surprised, then hurt, then indignant, and finally thoroughly pissed off.

He lifted her off the ground by her waist and slammed her none too gently into the opposite wall. "Do _you_ have any mode aside from unstable spoiled brat?" He made a sound of frustration, then got right up in her face. "Now I _do_ apologize for not being around to protect you from your own overactive imagination, but I was a bit busy trying to _save your bloody life._ "

Sienna was so startled she just blinked at him for a moment. She was pinned against the wall, his hands around her waist. Her feet weren't even touching the ground because he was holding her up to his eye level. Their faces were inches apart and they were both breathing hard. The Doctor looked nearly as startled as she was.

Her heart was pounding in her chest and her hands were still clutching his lapels.

She did the only thing she could do. She started to kiss the holy hell out of him.

* * *

The Doctor didn't even know what hit him. One second Sienna was a shrieking, sobbing wreck, the next, things got physical.

He actually put her against the wall and shouted at her in anger. He had actually done that. _To Sienna_. The moment he realized what he'd done he was stunned. Before he could move to set her down and apologize, Sienna began to snog his face off.

The thought occurred to him that maybe he should stop her. It was all wrong. She wasn't in her normal frame of mind. She was scared and angry. They'd just gotten slightly violent with each other. They were in a deserted castle once inhabited by a mad scientist who attempted to re-animate the dead. There was also that whole, 'everyone on this planet wanted to kill them' thing.

But then Sienna wrapped her legs around his waist and her tongue touched his and the Doctor thought, maybe this was more of a gray area than actually _wrong_.

Her hands were in his hair and his hands had made their way down to her hips. Something that had been smoldering just beneath the surface had ignited and was now burning out of control. The feeling of her mouth on his was driving him mad. He had her propped against the wall, his nether regions pressed against hers and from the sounds she was making, she wanted more.

He pulled her away from the wall and carried her back into the bed chambers, their mouths still fused together.

When they entered the room, Sienna broke away breathlessly and commanded, "Don't you _dare_ screw me on Frankenstein's bed!" He nodded his understanding and they began to kiss again.

He pressed her against another wall, knocking an ornate-if slightly grimy-room divider over in the process. It made quite a racket as it slammed into the ground.

Sienna's back was against the wall but she managed to reach down and pull her shirt off in between kisses. She also managed to hold on to him while he took his coat off and then got rid of his shirt as well. Her hot mouth was all over his neck and he gasped when she nipped him with her teeth.

He unhooked her bra and tossed it carelessly over his shoulder with the hand not holding her up and started to fondle her chest. He didn't know how long he was going to be able to keep going like this.

"The window seat." she gasped breathlessly, pushing herself away from the wall. She unwrapped herself from him and hopped back down to the floor. She grabbed him by the hand, pulling him along with her over to the window.

He saw the spot in question and studied it in confusion. There was absolutely no room for what he had in mind on that window seat.

"Sit down." she instructed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She unbuttoned her black jeans and quickly kicked them off. She stood before him wearing nothing but her panties. He just stood there taking in the view.

The next thing he knew, she made a sound of impatience and divested him of his trousers. She pushed him back into the window seat, now wearing only his pants. He was about to question her until she climbed on top of him and straddled his lap.

 _Interesting._ It turned out the window seat _was_ a perfectly functional fixture for what he had in mind.

All the fear and anxiety Sienna had been experiencing seemed to have stimulated her a great deal in other ways. She was being quite aggressive in letting him know just what she intended to do to him. She grabbed a hold of his face with both hands and began to kiss him forcefully while grinding herself against him. And it reminded him of something.

It triggered a memory of the first time they'd _almost_ kissed. They had slept together quite innocently one night but he'd awoken to find himself highly aroused by her scantily clad body pressed against him. Sienna had straddled his lap like this intending to seduce him but had ultimately been too nervous to even kiss him.

Which didn't seem to be a problem now.

He was certainly enjoying the present moment but the sudden realization that she didn't remember that past moment saddened him a bit. It made him realize how desperately he wanted her to have back the memories that were taken from her.

It was as if she was reading his mind. "Have we not done this before?" she asked, a bit breathless from getting so worked up.

He had to take a moment himself before he could speak coherently. "No." he whispered, slowly kissing his way down her neck. "Not like this."

"Good." she murmured huskily. "Would've been a shame to forget something like _this_."

He chuckled and ran his hands down the smooth skin of her back. The way she was now positioned put her breasts right in his face and he started to kiss her all over her chest.

Before either of them could make a move to remove the final barriers of clothing between them, Sienna suddenly froze. "Wait a second..." Her eyes narrowed. "Do you smell smoke?"

The Doctor felt something niggle at the back of his mind. Something he'd noticed... something he'd forgotten in the heat of the moment...

 _The torch!_

Sienna had thrown it down in the hallway! And hadn't he left a pile of kindling and firewood right outside the door of the bedchamber...?

 _Oh dear._

He all but launched her off of him and headed toward the door. He pulled it open to find the floor and wooden support beams in the hallway engulfed in flames.

He stood blinking in disbelief for a moment, wearing only his underpants. Sienna was suddenly right beside him.

"Oh _shit_!" she exclaimed, her hands to her mouth. "Did I do this?"

"Sienna you need to grab your clothes _right now_ and we need to get out of here immediately!"

The two of them scrambled into their clothes-or at least most of their clothes. The Doctor lost his coat in the shuffle. Sienna left without her bra. They managed to clear out of the castle down the back hallway.

They stood together on the bridge in the dark watching the fire rage out of control, incredulous.

"So much for the element of surprise." Sienna remarked dryly.

"Oh, I expect they'll be surprised alright." he countered, shaking his head.

They were quiet for a time.

Finally the Doctor cleared his throat. "I suppose we won't remain undetected for long after this."

She snorted. "Ya think?" She put her face in her hands and made a derisive noise. "Jesus, I can't fucking believe I just burnt down the best hiding place on this entire planet." It was fairly clear she felt terrible.

The Doctor wanted so much to be angry. He _tried_ to be angry. Angry at Sienna for her temper tantrum. Angry at himself for allowing her to incite him to such a degree. Angry at both of them for behaving like animals in heat.

It was no use. Before long he was laughing until there were tears in his eyes. It was apparently contagious. Sienna soon joined him.

When the laughter subsided, the Doctor cleared his throat. "I found Ohica." He informed her.

Sienna's eyes went wide. "And...?

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Why don't we find someplace to lay low, away from this somewhat conspicuous inferno and I'll fill you in."

As they walked across the bridge hand in hand, he observed quite seriously, "It would seem we've learned a valuable lesson."

Sienna looked over at him, her brow furrowed. "What's that?"

"In the future, I should avoid making you angry at all costs." He asserted.

She smirked. "Damn straight."


	26. Chapter 26

_**Adult content warning, though... that hadn't been the original plan for this chapter. Dammit Savannah...I thought we weren't going to do this. -Ruinous79**_

* * *

 ** _"Desire is the kind of thing that eats you_**

 ** _and leaves you starving."_**

 ** _-Nayyirah Waheed_**

* * *

 _Temple of Pythia, Gallifrey, Long Ago_

 _Maren was furious. She'd always had a reputation for her temper. Anteros himself had seen it more times than he cared to count. But now she was actually being destructive, destroying her own possessions in a fit of rage. They were in her private quarters in the underground temple of Pythia. It was a realm from which he was forbidden. But then, their very relationship was forbidden._

 _He sat upon her bed, watching helplessly as the only woman he'd ever loved smashed mirrors and threw lamps. Broke vases and ornaments. It took him a moment to realize that she was actually crying. That this was anger borne of grief. It was the first time he had ever known her to cry and that she was only served to solidify in his mind that everything was over. Everything he'd ever wanted. Life as he knew it. His father had made sure of that._

" _Maren... please." he ventured, sounding every bit as beaten as he felt. "There's nothing else we can do."_

 _His words surprisingly reached her. She stopped her path of destruction all at once. She turned toward him, tears streaming down her beautiful face. "You expect me to just leave Gallifrey behind. To leave you? And you're okay with that?"_

 _At her words, Anteros felt his hearts seize within him. He stood and walked to her. "Of course I'm not okay with any of this. But there is nowhere in the cosmos we can possibly run where my father couldn't find us. As long as you are with me, you are in danger." He grabbed her face between his hands gently. "He will do as he says Maren. He will erase you from time. From my life."_

 _Maren's brow furrowed and for the first time ever, she looked vulnerable to him. "But our child, Anteros." Her hands covered her stomach and she shook her head. "You expect me to do this alone? To be a mother... to carry on as if everything is perfectly alright. I tell you, I can't. I can't do it." She pulled away from him and collapsed onto a chair near her vanity table, the surface of which was now littered with mirror shards and remnants of broken bottles._

 _He sighed and knelt before her. "You won't be alone. This is why I insist you go with the rest of Pythia's disciples to Karn. Can't you see? This is a chance for you to be safe, for all of you to be safe and practice your beliefs without judgment. Where Rassilon has no hold over any of you. Where he cannot touch you. Where my father cannot either."_

 _Maren scoffed and wiped her face with the edge of her sacred robe. "Your father can do as he pleases. No amount of distance can stop him if he wishes to upend anyone's timeline. Even Rassilon's powers are no match for him."_

 _Anteros set his jaw and reached into his pocket. With a shaking hand he withdrew an object, wrapped in a silken cloth. He took Maren's hand and turned it over, set the object in it and closed her fingers around it. "My father has no such power without this. You take this to Karn and tell no one of it. It is your protection. Perhaps the only thing that can protect you from the wrath of a Time Lord."_

 _Maren looked confused. She unwrapped the silk handkerchief and studied the sacred relic. "Serpents?" she murmured. "A pendant of serpents." Recognition seemed to dawn on her all at once. Her eyes went wide. "The Pendant of Eternity. The Pendant of Apeiron?" She shook her head and quickly handed the item back to Anteros, as if she feared it might explode. "This is Time Lord magic." she sputtered, frightened._

 _Anteros sighed and turned the pendant over in his hand. "It is science that gives this object its power, not magic. And it will keep you and our child safe." He looked her in her eye and placed it back in her hand, closed his hand over hers and held tight._

" _Go to Karn Maren. Be the leader you are foretold to become. And protect our child." His ancient brown eyes peered into her blue eyes, imploring. "You are all my lives. All that matters at all. And if I accomplish nothing else in my existence, I will make certain of your safety." Tears spilled unbidden from his eyes but he did not break eye contact._

 _She swallowed. "Could not its power protect the three of us?" she asked without much hope in her tone._

 _Anteros smiled a sad smile. "It is no good to me as protection against my father. His hold on me is absolute." he shrugged._

" _But he will know it is missing." she insisted, shaking her head. "Will he not suspect it has gone with me to Karn?"_

 _A strange look came to his eyes. "I promise you, he will never know." He had never lied to her before and he didn't mean to start now._

 _Maren still looked slightly frightened but she nodded, almost imperceptibly. When he took his hand away from hers, she silently placed the relic into a pocket of her robe._

 _She grabbed his hands and pulled herself to stand before him."There's one more thing I need from you." she requested solemnly._

 _Anteros squinted down at her curiously, clasping her hands in his own. "What is it?"_

 _At last she smiled. "Kiss me." she whispered._

 _Home of Dayle Moss, Universe A, Present Day_

Savannah came awake slowly, lying on her stomach, her arms wrapped around her pillow. As she stirred, her hand touched a flat metallic object underneath her. She turned over onto her side and pulled the object out to examine it. It must have slipped from her pocket while she slept and wound up beneath her.

She studied the pendant that Ohila had given her the night before, really looking at it for the first time. Her dream had helped her to understand its significance if not its purpose. The High Priestess had told her nothing other than to keep it a secret, and that she'd know what to do when the time came.

The pendant looked ancient and apparently, it truly was. It was made from some metal she'd never seen. It was comprised of two snakes intertwined, eating their own tails. Where they tangled together in the center formed a figure 8... or perhaps an infinity symbol.

"Ouroboros." said a sleepy voice from over her shoulder.

She startled and nearly moved to hide the pendant but Silas must have already seen it. Hiding it at this point would only make him suspicious.

"What?" she asked him, trying to keep her voice normal.

"That symbol." he clarified from his position laying behind her. He scooted so that he was spooning her once more and took the pendant from her hand. "It's called the ouroboros. It symbolizes eternity or infinity. Usually it's just one serpent in a circle eating its own tail." He turned it over, checking it out. "That's pretty fuckin tight though."

Savannah felt her whole body catch fire at the feeling of his body pressed against her from behind. His guy bits pressed against her ass. His arm thrown over her casually. His head hovering just over her shoulder, his chin resting on her. It was like, instant horny, just add Silas. She must have been out of her mind with exhaustion the night before not to have attacked him where he lay.

Well she was wide awake now.

She rolled over to face him and took his face in her hands and started to kiss him hungrily before he even knew what was happening. Who cared about the goddamn pendant or her creepy alien ancestry? She was about to take this motherfucker's soul.

After a few seconds of kissing him at the awkward angle, she threw him onto his back and rolled on top of him. Silas seemed taken aback for a moment by the surprise assault but he recovered quickly. She was pleased to find that he was every bit as aroused as she was when she pressed her body down against him. His hands were wandering her body and his mouth was all over her neck. Now if only they weren't wearing so many clothes...

He had slipped his hand beneath her t shirt and she decided to make things easier for him by removing it altogether. He sat up and pulled his off as well while she unhooked her bra and tossed it to the floor. When he lay back down, he laid directly on top of her and she ran his hands down his chest appreciatively. His chest, upper arms and abs were nicely defined and his smooth skin was the color of caramel. Holy hell, but he was fine.

When her hands reached his lower abs, she unbuttoned his jeans, still kissing him fervently. He followed her lead and started to help her off with her own jeans. Soon they were completely naked and it was at that exact moment that dude decided to grow a conscious.

"Vannah, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, his breathing quite uneven as they got closer and closer to the main event.

 _Seriously_?

She sighed and ran her hand back down his abdomen. She groped him none too gently and looked him right in the eye. "What do you think?"

It seemed he couldn't argue with that logic. He grabbed her hands and pinned her down to the bed, nudging her legs apart with his own. "I tried to be a gentleman." he reminded her.

She giggled and nodded. "Duly noted."

* * *

When Silas had told Savannah the night before that nothing would happen unless she instigated it, he hadn't meant it as a challenge. One second he was examining the cool old ouroboros pendant she had, the next she was all over him. And she was not playing around.

He had never had a woman come onto him so strongly before. It was like she couldn't help herself. Like she was desperate for him. And it was unbelievably hot.

He didn't know a whole lot about pregnant girls but he suspected her pregnancy hormones might have played a role in her sudden enthusiasm for him. Silas could certainly think of worse things than being one of Savannah's cravings. Definitely not a hardship. He was more than happy to oblige.

When it was over, he rolled off of her, trying to catch his breath. It would take him a minute. He felt like he had just run ten miles.

It had been earth shattering. The best, by far, that Silas had ever had.

He suspected that it had been pretty good for her as well but didn't want to ruin the moment by asking.

Savannah turned on her side to face him and propped her head up with an elbow on the mattress. "Well then." she remarked, a satisfied smile on her beautiful face. Silas felt pretty damn good to be the cause of that smile.

"Yep." he replied, still flat on his back catching his breath. "Well then."

"You do realize, of course, that the moment the afterglow wears off, I'm going to tell you how stupid this was and that it's only going to complicate things." she warned him.

"Yep. Kinda figured." He rolled to his side to face her, a half smile on his face.

She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "You're looking awfully proud of yourself, sir."

He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. "Just glad I seem to have made you happy."

She sighed and a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. "That you did. Three times actually."

 _Win_ he thought to himself, his smile growing wider.

"Oh quit looking so-" Savannah was interrupted by a knock at her bedroom door. She closed her eyes as if she only just realized that an outside world existed.

"Yeah?" she called, quickly jumping up and retrieving his jeans from the end of the bed. She threw them and they hit him in the face.

"Vannah, I'm going to drop Ember at school. She's going to Dahlia's house tonight."

"Okay mom." she yelled back.

Silas quickly got dressed and couldn't help but watch Savannah do the same. Good lord but her body was unreal. She was fairly slender but curvy in all the right places. Silas had always liked a big ass. Hers wasn't huge but there was certainly junk in that trunk.

Savannah was ready before he was and she rushed out to say goodbye to Ember.

When he knelt to pick up his shoes, he noticed the serpent pendant on the floor. His eyes narrowed as he picked it up. It was an unusual necklace. That morning, Savannah had been looking at it like she'd never seen it before...

"Silas, are you gonna say good bye to Ember?" Savannah called suddenly from the other room. He stuck the pendant in his back pocket without another thought.

"Coming!" he called back and finished putting his shoes on.

By the time they got to the TARDIS, the Doctor was at the console examining his computer thoughtfully. He didn't bother greeting them.

"We good to go today?" Savannah wondered, glancing over at Silas.

"We leave as soon as your mother gets back." the Doctor replied, not looking up from the computer.

"So how exactly does one go about bouncing from one universe to the next? I take it that it's not a routine trip for you." Silas guessed, joining the Time Lord at the console.

The Doctor looked up and seemed to study him for a moment before answering. "There's a wormhole that exists in time between this universe and your own. Dayle and I created it the day we met."

Silas raised his eyebrows. "Impressive. I've heard of people attending cooking classes or pottery classes as first dates. Making chicken. Making ceramics. Never heard of anyone making a wormhole on a first date." He grinned.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "I don't do witty banter." he declared. "And stop smiling like that. Unless you want Savannah's mother to know what you've done."

The smile disappeared from his face immediately and he cleared his throat. He looked over at Savannah anxiously to find she was silently cracking up laughing. _Oh hilarious_. He'd seen Dayle get angrily protective over her daughter. He didn't wish to be on the receiving end of that.

"So what's the game plan?" Savannah asked once she'd stopped cackling at his expense. She approached the console and looked at the Doctor curiously. "Or are you just gonna do a _thing_?" This last part was dripping with sarcasm.

The Doctor threw her a little side eye. "We head directly to Karn. To an old friend's house"

"Well what about Sienna and the other Doctor?" Silas wondered. "Shouldn't we be looking for them?"

The Doctor sighed. "Once the Tertiary Console Room separated from the rest of the TARDIS, it would have lost all communications, all instrumentation. That's both good and bad. Good because there would be nothing for the Master to home in on. Bad because there would be nothing for us to home in on either."

"So they just ended up in a dead escape pod, possibly in the middle of nowhere?" Savannah asked. "Doesn't sound like they have much going for them."

Silas silently agreed, his mouth set in a grim line.

"No. Not much." The Doctor agreed, tapping a few keys on the control panel. "But they have one very important thing going for them."

Silas and Savannah shared a confused look. "What?" they asked in unison.

"Me." the Doctor replied simply.

It was then that Dayle entered the TARDIS. She let out a big sigh. "Alight folks. Are we doin this then?" She looked at each of them.

"Wait a minute." Savannah sputtered incredulously, not to be put off by the new arrival. "Just what is that supposed to mean?" she asked the Doctor.

"I was just telling them that the one thing the others have going for them is me." The Doctor informed Dayle with a small smile.

Silas saw a curious mix of emotions cross Dayle's face. Amusement, exasperation, curiosity and somewhere in there, adoration. She walked up to join them on the flight deck and crossed her arms. "Care to elaborate?" she wondered.

"Well, if I were me, and I am, I know just where I would take Sienna to keep her safe." He raised his eyebrows and his smile grew wider. "There's only one place on Karn where the Sisterhood's collective telepathy can not touch her."

Silas let out a sigh of relief. "So you do actually have a plan." Savannah looked relieved as well.

The Doctor began to prepare the TARDIS to dematerialize. Dayle had wandered over closer and Silas was surprised to see him reach down and take her hand, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He glanced at Savannah and knew she saw it too. She shrugged.

"So what is the amazingly safe location we're headed to?" Dayle questioned.

"It's a deserted castle. A lunatic by the name of Solon used to live there. I'd tell you about all the terrible things he did there, but I don't want to frighten Silas."

Silas sighed in exasperation. "Seriously? Why the... wait a minute." Silas stopped short, blinking in confusion. "You called me Silas."

The Doctor looked back at him and smirked. "It seems you're out of the friendzone now."

Savannah snorted laughter and Dayle's brow furrowed with confusion. "Have I missed something?" she asked.

Silas just put his face in his hand and shook his head.


	27. Chapter 27

_**"I can hear your name mentioned now**_

 _ **and it brings no misery.**_

 _ **I'm beginning to forget you**_

 _ **Like you forgot me."**_

 _ **-Jim Reeves (from I'm Beginning to Forget You)**_

* * *

 _Outskirts of Moira Swamp, Karn_

They had found a pretty decent hiding place beneath the bridge that connected the swamp to the castle. There was no water beneath the bridge. It merely provided a walkway from the edge of the swamp to the front of the castle. Another such walkway led in the opposite direction away from the castle. Toward the caves of the Sisterhood.

They sat side by side on the roots of a large silver tree at the base of a hill while the Doctor told Sienna about his interaction with Ohica.

"Well to start with, she was waiting for me. Right on the other side of that small mountain." Sienna's gasped at that news. One corner of his mouth lifted. "My sentiments exactly. She said my arrival on Karn was foretold."

"Yeah, that's not good." Sienna murmured.

"Well, actually... it seems that Ohica is the only member of the Sisterhood who was expecting me... expecting us." He chewed his thumb for a moment. "She sent the Master on a wild goose chase to keep him occupied. And she disabled the TARDIS... So that none of us can leave."

The Doctor seemed to let that bit of news sink in before he continued. Sienna felt a knot forming in her stomach. She supposed this was when shit would really start getting crazy.

"She asked me for my help Sienna." The Doctor's blue eyes looked slightly mystified by this development. "Something more is going on here... something way beyond the typical abilities of the Sisterhood." He looked deeply troubled. "Ohica had a daughter, you said. In your dream you recall that Ohica's daughter was off generation and Theia's best friend, correct?"

Sienna's eyebrows went up. "Well yeah. I can't recall the name but I know for sure that Theia was thinking of Ohica's daughter."

The Doctor's expression became inscrutable. "Only she doesn't have a daughter. She never did."

Sienna was puzzled. "So what... did I remember it wrong?"

His voice sounded strange. "Not unless Ohica remembers wrong too."

She felt something icy squeeze at her heart and a chill possess her whole being. Like someone walked over her grave. "Say _what_?"

He sighed. "Ohica knows she had a daughter. Her name was Ohila. She was near Theia's age." He paused as if the next part might be too awful to bear. He didn't disappoint. "She was erased from time."

Sienna gasped. "Maren?" she asked, horrified at the thought.

The Doctor pressed his lips together and shrugged. "So it would seem."

"To punish Ohica." Sienna whispered, almost to herself. "To punish Ohica for helping Theia."

The Doctor nodded. "That's what Ohica believes. Nobody else remembers Ohila, but Maren made sure that Ohica wouldn't completely forget. Ohica began finding little clues left for her. A baby blanket. An embroidered robe. Even a letter that Ohila had written to her mother once."

Sienna shook her head. "That's sick. She's been fucking torturing that woman." She had her hands to her stomach, she felt so ill from the news of this level of cruelty.

The Doctor wasn't finished yet. "Ohica also confirmed a suspicion of mine. Maren was responsible for your altered timeline. She set me up. She set both of us up. The Malum star system, meeting you, the paradox. She did all of it."

Sienna looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Okay. I may not have the clearest understanding of this power of Pythia business, but how in the name of Rassilon's Erectile Dysfunction could she have possibly pulled _that_ off?"

The Doctor seemed amused at her choice of words. "It's Time Lord science." he told her. "Plain and simple. She must have gotten her hands on something. Perhaps from Theia's father Anteros. I'm rather afraid that Maren has some very fearsome power at her disposal."

"But why would she do that to _you_?" Sienna asked. "Or was it all about getting to me?"

"There was more to the prophecy." he explained, suddenly looking very grim. "More that Maren did not share with Ohica until many years later."

Sienna gestured impatiently for him to elaborate.

"Not only was Theia foretold to have a great granddaughter that would fall in love with a Time Lord." He sighed, obviously reluctant to even speak the words. "Maren was foretold to die at the hands of that very same Time Lord." He made brief eye contact, then looked away.

Sienna was pretty much bowled over by this news, but the Doctor looked so troubled that she reined in her reaction for his benefit. "That's for certain?" she asked softly. "That's a thing that's definitely meant to happen?"

He blew out a breath. "Definitely." he said at length.

They sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Sienna murmured "I have a hard time picturing you _hurting_ anyone let alone _killing_ someone." But then she thought for a moment. "Though you really punched the piss out of Chris that day." She couldn't help but giggle at the memory. That idiot.

The Doctor smirked. "I'm certainly no fan of violence. Though sometimes I have found it to be a necessary evil."

"So how exactly does Ohica expect you to help her? Like, does she think you're a hitman or something?" Sienna gave him a smartass grin, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

"Wait just a moment." The Doctor said brusquely, getting to his feet. He looked like someone who had just seen a ghost. "What did you just say about Chris? About me punching Chris?"

"Uh... well." His reaction had her confused. She tried to figure out what she could have said to warrant such a reaction. "Just that you really punched the piss out of him. I mean... even when you knock a guy out you're a gentleman about it." she pointed out, afraid he thought she was commenting negatively on his character. "You actually apologized in advance."

The Doctor stood over her, staring down at her in amazement. "You haven't even noticed." he whispered incredulously.

"Noticed _what_?" Now she was starting to get pissed off. "Can we cut out the cryptic shit Doctor? What's _wrong_?"

The Doctor knelt down in front of her and took hold of her hands. "Nothing. Nothing at all." He replied softly. He was smiling like there was some joke that she hadn't quite gotten yet. In fact, he looked just about the happiest she'd ever seen him.

His behavior was inexplicably starting to make her blush. "Okaay... soooo." She was still confused.

"Tell me." The Doctor began casually. "What happened after I knocked out Chris?"

Sienna narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, it was the first time I set foot on the TARDIS of course..."

The moment of sudden comprehension was like a lightning strike. _Oh._

" _I remember._ " she whispered. She realized she was shaking every so slightly.

The Doctor squinted at her curiously, still holding onto her hands. "What else do you remember?" he questioned.

Sienna tried to calm down enough to concentrate. This was a big fuckin deal... "I remember... I remember parking at the IGA on Dunhurst. Texting you. Then Chris showed up and just attacked me." That part of the memory made her shudder a bit. He had nearly choked her out but then... "You came to my rescue, didn't you?"

He was watching her, a small smile still on his face. He nodded. "Is that all you remember?" he wondered.

She narrowed her eyes, casting her mind back. The memory was there. Just that one incident. But it was slightly fuzzy around the edges. And she realized she still couldn't remember anything else from her time before with the Doctor. She made a sound of frustration.

"It's alright. It's okay." he reassured her gently. "I think you'll find that more and more will start coming back to you."

"But...why? Why now all of a sudden?" she blinked in confusion.

The Doctor sighed. "I suspect it's your proximity to the Sacred Flame." He shook his head, clearly not fully understanding something for once. "The Sisterhood's mind power is enhanced the closer they are to the flame. Even those _without_ the power of Pythia have some semblance of telepathic abilities when near the flame. Perhaps they are able to draw from the rest of the group's collective powers." He looked mystified but also very curious.

"Wait... so...whoa. You're saying that because I'm closer to this flame, my memory is coming back, just like that? All on its own?

He nodded.

She really didn't know how to feel. She supposed she _should_ be happy about this news, but she suddenly felt very anxious. Not all the memories could be good. And how the hell was she supposed to incorporate the past events into her current reality?

For instance, remembering how she felt about the Doctor six months ago wasn't going to just make her _feel that exact way_ again all of a sudden. She looked down at their hands, fingers interlocked. She wondered if that was what the Doctor was counting on.

He seemed to sense her sudden shift in mood. "And now you feel overwhelmed." he murmured.

She looked back up to find him studying her. She shrugged and kept her voice casual. "A bit."

He sighed, looking as if he just realized something. "There's no reason to worry. Nobody is expecting anything from you." He did a fairly accurate imitation of a smile, then disentangled his hand from hers, stood again and went to sit on the roots of a tree across from her rather than beside her.

His deliberate act of creating space between them did something to Sienna's heart. Something that felt a lot like hurt borne of rejection. In fact, she felt quite shook all of a sudden. And it made no fucking sense. She barely knew this guy.

Sienna cleared her throat nervously and just started to say words to be saying something. "I'm sorry for trying to jump your bones back there at the castle." She forced a little laugh. "Talk about mixed signals... given the circumstances."

 _Now why the hell had she said that?_

He laughed humorlessly. "I think apologizing for your actions 'given the circumstances' could be taken by some as an insult." He said this conversationally, but he was clearly agitated by her apology.

"I didn't mean it like _that_." she said quickly. "Not like I regret it or anything. Obviously I was into it. Like... _way_ into it. But... just...maybe it meant something else to you..." She trailed off.

 _Jesus. Why did she keep fucking talking_?

He actually looked amused. "Okay Sienna. I think you've said quite enough." He crossed his arms and settled back against the tree and closed his eyes. "Maybe we should try to get some rest now, hmm?"

Sienna just sat there with her heart pounding in her ears, wondering exactly at what point the conversation had spun out of control.

* * *

The Doctor closed his eyes, willing Sienna to stop speaking. It was obvious she was prattling nervously, though why exactly, he didn't fully understand. He suspected though that it was the thought of getting her memory back. Memories of him. Memories of them together.

Up until now, she'd clamored to have back what was taken from her. Was (rightfully) furious that her mind had been tampered with in such a way. But now that it appeared she would get her memories back after all, she seemed fearful of what she might remember. He suspected that mostly she feared what the memories might make her feel. Or _not_ feel.

And it had suddenly occurred to him that all this time, he had been taking for granted that if she remembered everything, she'd be in love with him again like before. Which was absurd when he really thought about it.

 _Wishful thinking._ That was what it was. And the sooner he banished said wishful thinking from his mind, the better off they'd both be.

He hoped if he stayed still with his eyes closed long enough, she would assume he was asleep and follow suit. It was a mild night so they shouldn't get cold. This little hidden corner of Karn would suffice for a night's sleep.

And perhaps in the morning, he wouldn't care quite so much that he had inadvertently managed to screw up the best thing that had ever happened to him.

After a time, he heard a bit of rustling in the nearby bushes and he wondered what Sienna was up to. He was reluctant to open his eyes, to invite more terribly awkward conversation, but his curiosity got the better of him.

His opened his eyes and was completely unprepared for the sight before him. Some grayish humanoid figure with glowing eyes was dragging Sienna off. Its clawed hand covered her mouth to keep her from making a sound. Her brown eyes were wide with terror.

The Doctor jumped to his feet, adrenaline shooting through his system. "Who are you and just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded indignantly.

The creature, who didn't seem to walk upright with ease merely hissed at him and continued backing away clumsily. What it lacked in agility though, it seemed to make up for in strength. Despite it's strange spindly looking arms, it handled Sienna's weight with ease.

The Doctor assumed that this must be one of the beings from the swamp. One of the creatures that had crafted the rowboat they'd used earlier that very day. So it wasn't just some animal. It had awareness and the ability to reason. If only he could communicate with it.

The Doctor slowly followed the creature, his hands up to show he meant no harm. He continued to try to talk to it. Where was the TARDIS translation matrix when you needed it most? "Perhaps if you just tell me what you want, I might be able to help you. But you should really put my friend down now. You're frightening her."

He heard Sienna make a series of noises beneath the creature's clawed hand. If he knew Sienna at all, she had just said something positively profane. Possibly about the creature's mother. It was probably best that her mouth remained covered for the moment.

The Doctor was so intent on reasoning with the mysterious being, he failed to watch his own back and was blind sighted by a second creature who began to drag him off in the same direction.

"Is all this strictly necessary?" the Doctor asked in annoyance, struggling with the surprisingly sturdy being. "If we could just find a way to communicate with one another, I think you'll find we aren't so different."

The creatures made a series of ticking and hissing sounds, apparently communicating amongst themselves. They didn't seem the least bit interested in conversing with their captives.

The gray fellows hauled the Doctor and Sienna to the water's edge, to the very rowboat the two had borrowed that morning.

Sienna was still muzzled by the gnarly, clawed hand but was looking over at the Doctor with narrowed eyes. He sighed. She wasn't going to let him live this one down any time soon.

Only three of them could fit on the boat and so once they'd gotten the Doctor and Sienna settled in, the being that had dragged Sienna off dove into the red swamp water and disappeared. The remaining creature pushed the boat out into the swamp and climbed in with them. It began to row in an ungainly fashion, away from the still smoldering castle, into an even darker part of the swamp.

The creature seemed to (rightfully) assume that the prospect of bailing out into the red water wasn't a desirable option for either of them so made no effort to restrain them. It just silently rowed further and further away from the castle. The only light on the swamp came from the greenish moon that hung low in the sky but it appeared they were headed in the direction of a small waterfall.

Sienna just sat shaking her head. "Great. This is just fucking charming. Captured by hostile alien beings? Seriously?"

The Doctor regarded Sienna with some amusement. "Quite frankly, as much time as you've spent around me, I'm rather astonished we haven't been captured by hostile alien beings together before this very moment."

Sienna shook her head. "This is not even close to funny. I cannot believe this. I _told_ you this would happen if you took their row boat."

The Doctor sighed. "Sienna, I don't think this is revenge for the row boat."

She gave him a withering look. "How the hell do you know? It doesn't appear you understand what the hell they're saying and they definitely don't understand what you're saying."

"Sienna, please... we need to keep level heads. Hopefully we will soon find out just what they want with us and maybe we can find a way to resolve things."

Sienna snickered. "And then perhaps a pegasus will come along and give us a ride on its back to Gum Drop Island. For fuck's sake. They're going to _eat_ us."

The creature had pulled the canoe up near the water fall, then roughly picked Sienna up and set her on the rocky outcropping. Then it started to shove the Doctor in that direction.

Once he'd joined Sienna on the edge, the Doctor saw that back behind the waterfall was some sort of underground cave.

They were pushed and prodded to enter, the creature hissing at them occasionally to remind them who was in charge.

It was dark here and the glowing eyes suddenly made sense to the Doctor. He suspected they could see in the dark. As they made their way deeper underground, several sets of glowing eyes appeared.

Sienna had grabbed onto his arm and had it in a bone-crushing grip. Of course. The lair would have to be in perfect darkness. _Definitely never going to let him live this down._

Suddenly they reached a primitive looking gate which the creature swung open. Inside was a small dim chamber. There was light leaking in from somewhere in there. The creature picked up Sienna and pretty well threw her into the small room and pushed the Doctor in behind her. The gate swung shut, locking them in.

"Sienna are you alright?" The Doctor asked urgently.

"Pretty sure I just landed in a pile of bones here." She said in mock upbeat tone. "Yep. Lookee here. A fucking skull." She scoffed. "Still think we're going to be able to 'resolve things' here Doctor?" Sienna was obviously scared and was, as usual, deflecting with a tough façade.

He made his way over to where she had landed and took hold of her hand. "We must keep calm and think for a moment. There is _always_ a way out of these situations. Believe me. I've been in enough of them."

"You better figure something out quick genius. These guys do not seem friendly."

He squeezed her hand to offer a little comfort. "Yes, well these... these beings certainly do not seem interested in having us to tea."

Sienna snorted derisively. " _Beings_? Doctor. Seriously. You know what they are."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Sienna, we are _not_ calling them that. I'm sure their species have a proper name..."

She pulled her hand out of his and crossed her arms, one eyebrow raised. "Doctor..." Her voice held a warning.

He sighed resignedly. "Alright... fine! They're Murdery Swamp Zombies. Are you satisfied?"


	28. Chapter 28

**_"Heroes aren't heroes because they worship the light,_**

 ** _but because they know the darkness all too well_**

 ** _to stand down and live with it."_**

 ** _-Ninya Tippett (from The Mischievous Mrs. Maxfield)_**

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Universe B_

The Doctor was on the phone trying to calm down a thoroughly frantic Dayle B. It wasn't until Savannah's mother suggested that she might appreciate an update that the Doctor thought to call her.

"I swear, it's like when he regenerated, all his empathy and compassion were replaced with eyebrows." Dayle muttered, leaning against the console with her arms crossed.

Savannah would have laughed if weren't for the fact that Dayle was genuinely unhappy with the Doctor at the moment. Savannah watched her mom carefully. She had been afraid from the beginning that Dayle would wind up disappointed with the new Doctor.

When he got off the phone, he sighed and looked up at the rest of them. "Right. So, now that that's been sorted, we head to Karn." He tapped a few keys on the console and pulled a lever.

As the TARDIS left the time vortex for Karn, he seemed to notice the hostile level of side eye that Dayle was giving him. He crossed his arms as well, mirroring her closed off stance. "You're angry with me." he stated.

Dayle laughed humorlessly and shook her head. "It's not about being angry. I'm just understanding more and more that I really don't know who you are now."

The Doctor's face remained impassive though something flickered behind his eyes. "Yes, well. I suppose that's true. I'm certainly not the man I was before." He put his hands in his pockets and turned away from her, seemingly busying himself with the computer monitor.

Dayle made a disappointed sound and gestured in disbelief. "And that's just fine with you. You're perfectly okay with the fact that I think you're a bit of an asshole?"

The Doctor scratched his head, looking genuinely at a loss for a reply. Finally he sighed and told her "It is what it is. I can't apologize for the person I've become. It's how I'm made." He shrugged and once more fiddled with the controls.

Dayle walked right up to the Doctor and got in his face. "I don't accept that. You can do _better_." she told him sternly. He actually looked astonished at her words, and then slightly ashamed. After a moment, her expression softened. She reached up and adjusted the collar of his shirt and said softly. "You got two fuckin hearts Time Lord. Start usin 'em." She looked back up into his face and squinted at him. "Okay?"

The look on the Doctor's face, the look he was giving Dayle made Savannah look away and even blush a bit. It was a look of pure devotion. She felt like she was interfering in a private moment just by witnessing it.

She looked up to see Silas had his cute half smile on and was watching her closely, gauging her reaction to the two lovebirds. Savannah felt her heart stutter a bit under his gaze and busied herself examining the sleeve of her hoodie. _Why_ had she given in to her hormones that morning? Now it was going to be a million times harder when they had to say good bye.

The engines made the usual wheezing, groaning sound as they apparently materialized on Karn. Silas and Savannah shared a nervous look. She couldn't help but remember her previous experience on the Karn in her universe. Of course, that had been with the _other_ Silas. She sighed and shook herself a bit. It really had been a fucked up couple of weeks.

After the little moment had passed, the Doctor clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "Now. Solon's castle! Quite a history here, not much of it good. But it's not what happened on the inside that matters. It's what the castle is made of on the outside that counts _._ It was constructed with wood, composite metal _and_...Matricite." He tapped a few keys to pull up the scanner but continued looking down toward the console, making adjustments as he spoke. "A very interesting mineral, Matricite. It has the unique property of being impervious to telepathic energy."

Savannah was staring at the scanner, dumbfounded. She noticed that both Silas and her mother appeared to be doing the same.

Savannah finally snapped out of it and cleared her throat. "Um. Doctor... does the TARDIS happen to be impervious to _fire_ because I'm pretty sure this castle is burning down."

"It's _what_?" His eyes flew to the scanner and took in the sight of a fire blazing out of control. "Oh _no_!" He ran around the console, flipped a switch and tapped a few buttons. "Just a quick hop." he muttered.

The TARDIS rematerialized once more and from the scanner, Savannah could see that this time they were on the _outside_ of the burning castle. It was night on Karn and aside from the inferno before them, it appeared to be a quiet night.

Dayle rushed over, pulled the door release handle and ran outside. Savannah followed her mother and Silas followed Savannah. The Doctor took up the back.

They were standing on some type of pier or bridge. The walkway led to the burning castle on one end and down toward some type of body of water at the other end.

"What the hell could have happened?" Dayle asked incredulously. She shook her head. "Doctor you don't think..." She trailed off, seemingly unable to say the words.

The Doctor looked deeply troubled. "I'm not certain of anything just yet Dayle... _except_ for the fact that I _can_ sense a Time Lord nearby." His eyes narrowed. "I can sense his mind."

Savannah stood on the wooden bridge, hugging herself to keep warm. The chill she was experiencing was surely internal for the temperature outside was fairly moderate.

Silas walked over and put his arms around her from behind and she glanced back up at him. "What if they were _in_ there?" Savannah worried. "What if they _are_ in there?"

His voice was low and soft. "I don't know Vannah. But we'll figure something out." He gave her a little squeeze of reassurance.

"So you have no way of knowing exactly _where_ the Time Lord you're sensing is?" Dayle wondered.

The Doctor was casting his eyes all around them and suddenly something beneath the bridge seemed to catch his attention. He knelt, put one hand on the edge and hopped down. Savannah and the others stood blinking in surprise.

 _Not bad for an old dude._ Savannah thought to herself.

"I suppose we follow." Dayle guessed and followed suit.

When she got to the bottom she called back up. "Silas, help her down. Don't let her hurt herself."

Savannah rolled her eyes as she sat on her ass at the edge of the bridge. "I'm pregnant, not fucking crippled." she muttered. Silas chuckled but hopped down first just the same and offered his arms.

"Come on Prego." His eyes were sparkling as he gave her his patented smartass grin and Savannah wasn't sure what she wanted to do more: Kick him in his face or have her way with him again.

She jumped down and was impressed when he actually caught her. He cradled her in his arms and gave her a little wink. Her heart stuttered again and she still wasn't sure which she would rather do to him.

He set her down and they joined Dayle and the Doctor who were knelt down on the ground.

"Look." Dayle motioned. Even with only the moonlight, Savannah could clearly see a disturbance in the wet red dirt. Shoe prints and something more sinister. Drag marks. She felt her pulse pick up. There were two separate sets of the tracks. One for Sienna. One for the Doctor.

"It looks like these tracks lead down there... to the water's edge!" Silas pointed out and began to make his way down the hill with the Doctor close behind.

Savannah felt her mother grasp on to her hand. "Come on baby." She said softly. "Let's see what's goin on."

At the water's edge, another, deeper imprint was in the mud.

"A canoe maybe?" Savannah suggested.

"So it would seem." the Doctor agreed grimly. He looked all around them. "This is Moira Swamp. It appears that someone or some _thing_ has absconded with Sienna and the other Doctor and taken them into the swamp."

"Do you think whoever did this started that fire?" Silas wondered. He was starting to look terribly concerned now and Savannah's heart hurt a little for him. His best friend in the world was in big trouble.

"The real question is, what the fuck do we do to find them?" Savannah asked, ready to kick some ass.

"Okay lil badass. I think _we_ aren't going to do anything." Silas suddenly informed her sternly. "I think you and your mom are going to sit tight right here while the Doctor and I see about all this." Savannah resented the hell out of his tone and wanted to correct him on it but then she saw his eyes. She knew immediately that he didn't want to chance her getting hurt or lost as well.

"But you have no boat or anything." Dayle fussed. "And I _know_ you don't intend to swim in that shit." Her lip curled in disgust as she examined the opaque rusty swamp water. The Doctor was pointing his sonic screwdriver at the water and seemed to be taking some readings.

Silas was already kicking off his shoes."Watch me." he scoffed, removing his shirt and setting it over a low hanging branch.

To Savannah's surprise, the Doctor was removing his shoes as well. "There's nothing living in this water. The water itself is ugly but quite harmless." He took his jacket off and passed it to Dayle. "It's always been rumored that _something_ lives out here on the swamp. Some species that hide during the day time. All the small creatures of Karn steer clear of this forest... of this whole swamp. There must be a reason for that."

"Wonderful. You'll probably be eaten by swamp zombies." Dayle muttered, clutching onto the black jacket. She was obviously terrified for their safety. Savannah walked over and put her arm around her mom to comfort her.

"Have faith." the Doctor said, giving Dayle a reassuring look. "I've encountered a countless number of nefarious creatures in my day. And I've yet to be eaten." He smiled and then turned away once more.

The two men waded into the swamp up to their waist. Savannah cringed and let go of her mom. She inched closer to the swamp to get a better look. The water looked a bit like tomato soup. It was unsettling to say the least.

"So what exactly are _we_ supposed to do?" Savannah wondered. "Just stand here and hope the swamp zombies aren't hungry anymore?"

" _Look_!" The Doctor suddenly said with excitement in his voice. He pointed off into the swamp. "There. I saw two lights. Like glowing eyes, _there_ by that water fall."

Silas turned then and looked into Savannah's eyes intensely. "You two go back to the TARDIS." he instructed. "Get back there as quickly as you can and stay out of sight." He dove in and began to swim in the direction the Doctor had pointed. The doctor dove in right behind him and quickly caught up.

"So. Great. We'll just be here then." Savannah said flatly. When her mom didn't respond right away, she turned.

She felt her heart leap to her throat when she saw Dayle laid out on the ground. At first she was afraid she fainted or something. She ran to her side. " _Mom_!"

And then she didn't even know _what_ hit her. All of a sudden, Savannah was on the ground too, unable to move anything below her neck.

"Vannah?" Dayle's voice inquired in a panic. Clearly she was conscious and unable to move as well.

"I'm right here mom. What the hell is happening?"

Before Dayle could reply, a face appeared in Savannah's line of sight. A sinister looking dude with a goatee and mustache bent at the waist, taking in the view of her helpless form on the ground. He looked thoroughly amused.

"Sienna Woods." the man said in a familiar, oily voice. "I just _knew_ I'd catch up with you before too long. Like I said. Fate." He chuckled darkly.

Savannah would know that repulsive voice, that creepy _laugh_ anywhere. She'd heard it when the Doctor had made contact with the other Doctor's TARDIS last week.

The fucking Master.

* * *

Silas did his best not to think too much of the disgusting water they were swimming through and the fact that they couldn't see through it well enough to know what was below them. He just had to trust the Doctor when he said it was safe.

They reached the outcropping of rock beside the waterfall before too long and he hauled himself up onto the ledge. He reached a hand down to help pull the Doctor up as well.

The Doctor reached into the pocket of his soaked slacks and pulled out the weird sonic device again. He pressed a button and it became a flashlight.

Silas made an impressed noise. "Waterproof I take it?"

The Doctor nodded toward the waterfall. "Look there. It's a cave."

Silas looked to where he was motioning and saw that, there behind the waterfall, was indeed a hidden cave.

He held his hand out for the flashlight. "I should go first. That way I can protect you from whatever we might come across."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and held the device a bit closer to his body. "It's waterproof, not idiot proof. I'll take my chances." He went first. Silas stood for a moment shaking his head before following.

The cave was pitch black though Silas swore he saw a flash of glowing eyes somewhere far up ahead.

"We are definitely nearby a Time Lord." the Doctor whispered. "We are very, very close."

They made their way slowly, the Doctor swinging the flashlight's beam here and there.

"I hope the girls are okay." Silas muttered, suddenly deeply regretting leaving Savannah and her mom by themselves. He was afraid he'd made a bad call.

"The women will be just fine." The Doctor assured him. "They'll be safe in the TARDIS. Dayle has a key and they can keep an eye out for us on the scanner."

"Yeah but what if-"

"Nothing can get to them in the TARDIS. Don't worry. Let's take care of this situation and we'll see them again before you know it." The Doctor said firmly.

Silas was surprised. The Doctor had just managed to offer comfort and reassurance without calling him a name or insulting his intelligence once. Perhaps he was improving.

"Hello?" A man's voice suddenly came from up ahead and to their left.

The Doctor shone the beam over there and they saw some type of gate.

" _You think that's them_?" Silas whispered, his heart hammering in his ribcage.

The Doctor held one finger to his lips, motioning for him to hush. They sneaked up to the gate stealthily. When they reached it, the Doctor whispered, "Who's there?"

Silas nearly fell over with relief when he heard Sienna's voice. " _Ohmygod_! It's another person! Doctor, it's another person!"

The other man's voice called warily, "Identify yourself."

"Sienna it's me! Silas!" he blurted.

The Doctor gave him a dirty look and added. "And I'm the Doctor."

"No fuckin _way_!" Sienna shrieked.

Both Doctors hissed " _Shhhhh_!" and Silas couldn't help but chuckle.

The Doctor aimed his little device at the gate and pressed a button. A rhythmic whirring sound could be heard and the gate clicked open.

A blonde man peeked out and a smile came to his face. The gate opened the rest of the way and he came out and offered his hand. "Hello there Doctor." The grumpy Doctor wordlessly accepted a handshake and then the younger one turned toward him. "And you must be Silas." he said cordially.

Before he could shake his hand, Sienna came flying out of the gate and nearly tackled him. " _Si_! I can't believe it's really you!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Eww. You're wet... Tell me you did _not_ swim in that fucking swamp!?"

Silas chuckled and patted her on the back. "Two guesses how you're getting back to the TARDIS."

Sienna gasped and the older Doctor suddenly warned, "Folks, it looks like we have company."

Silas looked deeper into the dark tunnel and saw three sets of glowing eyes floating toward them. _Holy fuck_.

The older Doctor tugged at Silas's arm. "Come on, quickly!" he commanded.

Silas obeyed and grabbed Sienna by the hand. They made their way back out from behind the waterfall, the younger Doctor pulling up the rear.

When they reached the ledge Sienna looked like she might throw up. "Dude. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's fine." Silas insisted urgently. "The Doctor scanned the swamp with his sonic thingee. It's safe. Let's _go_."

The older Doctor had already jumped in and was treading water, looking up at them with annoyance in his eyes. "Hurry it up!"

Sienna's face was screwed up with anxiety. "I _can't_!" she insisted "There's no way!"

The other Doctor suddenly walked up and just pushed her in. Silas looked over at him, shocked.

Sienna was spluttering and splashing and swearing up a storm in the rusty water below.

The young Doctor grinned at Silas and offered his hand. "So nice to meet you." He shook his hand. "I'm the _other_ Doctor." And then he jumped in.

Silas just chuckled and joined them.

They all swam for the other bank. The older Doctor was ahead of them and constantly urging them to keep up. Sienna was actually holding her own so she didn't require any assistance. Silas suspected she was swimming so fast out of sheer rage. Man oh man. It definitely must be love.

He could hear a few additional big splashes a ways back as the creatures joined them in the water. He chanced a look in that direction and realized they must be swimming under water because the surface was empty.

He picked up his pace, suddenly picturing one of them grabbing onto his foot and pulling him under. They had a decent head start but he wasn't taking any chances

The older Doctor had reached land and suddenly Silas heard him shout, "Oh no! _Dayle_."

Silas dove under the water and started swimming for all he was worth to the shore.

When he got there, he saw the Doctor knelt down beside Dayle who was on the ground not moving. She was a sobbing wreck.

The one thing he did not see was any sign of Savannah. His stomach lurched. No way would Savannah leave her mother alone in this condition by choice.

The Doctor was speaking to Dayle gently. "Sweetheart, just take a breath and tell me what happened."

"That man." she sobbed. "He took Vannah."

Silas felt his heart drop down to his stomach. He _knew_ he shouldn't have left her here. His hands went to his face and covered his mouth. He 100% blamed himself.

He was vaguely aware that the other Doctor was helping Sienna out of the water.

They came to stand alongside him.

"What's happened?" the blonde Doctor asked with evident concern.

"Yeah, what is it Si?" Sienna chimed in.

"It's Vannah." Silas said softly, feeling very far away. Like he was in a dream. "Someone's taken her."

"He insisted she was Sienna no matter how much we told him she wasn't." Dayle sobbed. "He wouldn't listen... he just _took_ her."

The older Doctor looked about the way Silas felt. His voice was anguished. "She's paralyzed. She can't move. I'm not sure what he's done to her." He was checking her all over to see if he could find anything.

"Oh I have a pretty good idea." the young Doctor said angrily, heading toward Dayle. He barely paused when he got to her, just scooped her up into his arms. "I assume your TARDIS is nearby?" He inquired, his jaw set angrily.

The other Doctor remained on the ground, blinking in confusion. "Well... yes."

"Then let's go." the blonde Doctor coaxed. "Before our swamp friends catch up with us."

Silas had nearly forgotten about their pursuers until that very moment. He got his ass in gear and pointed up to the bridge. "It's right there. Come on!"

The older Doctor had finally climbed to his feet, still looking a bit dazed.

Sienna jumped into action as well. She grabbed the older Doctor by his hand and tugged him along. "Hey there old friend. I thought I was the one with memory issues."

The Doctor just looked at her in confusion as he followed along.

Sienna was walking backwards and raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm a healer dude. She's gonna be just fine. I got this."


	29. Chapter 29

_**"There are two kinds of guilt:**_

 _ **the kind that drowns you until you're useless,**_

 _ **and the kind that fires your soul to purpose."**_

 _ **-Sabaa Tahir (from An Ember in the Ashes)**_

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Karn_

When Sienna came to, she found she was laid out on an unfamiliar bed. She sat up blinking, disoriented. She strove to identify some frame of reference for her current circumstances but everything was a bit fuzzy.

She put her hand to her head. _Hungover_? she wondered. Then she remembered she had been sober for over six months. Couldn't be that.

She looked down at herself and realized she was wearing unfamiliar clothes. Gray sweat pants and a pink polo t-shirt. And crazy looking green argyle socks. Comfortable but not especially attractive. Where the hell had these clothes come from?

"Back with us now?" came a gentle voice from the door. Sienna turned toward the voice. She saw a familiar handsome face and everything came back to her at once. The Doctor. Karn. The swamp. Healing Dayle. She remembered the look of horror on the other Doctor's face.

"Is Dayle alright?" she wondered, jumping to her feet. She very nearly hit the floor. Fortunately the Doctor grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Dayle's just fine." he replied impatiently, helping her back to the bed. "You on the other hand need to rest a while."

Sienna looked back down at her clothes. "So. How the hell did I end up in this monstrosity of an outfit?"

The Doctor chuckled. "You were still wet from the swamp and Dayle wanted you to rest comfortably after you healed her. Don't worry. She dressed you. I had nothing to do with it."

Sienna snickered and pulled off the socks, wiggled her toes. "I didn't exactly accuse you of molesting me."

The Doctor was watching her in amusement. "Of course you'd rather be barefoot than have warm feet."

"Dude. Green argyle?" She smirked at him but then suddenly remembered something else. The distraught look on her best friend's face.

 _It's Vannah. Someone's taken her._

"Silas." she whispered. "He looked so upset..."

The Doctor looked down at the floor and sighed. "Yes, well. It seems he and Dayle are rather beside themselves over Savannah being taken." He sat beside her on the bed and stole a glance at her, then looked away. "Savannah's pregnant apparently."

Sienna sat blinking, finally understanding the implications of what had happened. "Savannah was taken because the Master thought she was me."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "So it would seem."

"And that motherfucker is going to take her to the Sisterhood and Maren is going to do something terrible to her." Sienna suddenly felt nauseous. This was all her fault. Unbelievable.

She got to her feet again. Unsteady or not, she needed to know what was happening.

This time the Doctor didn't argue. He simply stood alongside her and put one hand under her elbow to assist her in walking. When they reached the control room, Sienna saw that Dayle was curled in a chair, sobbing uncontrollably and the other Doctor was knelt down in front of her holding her hands. He looked at a complete loss as to how to comfort her.

Sienna's Doctor had a compassionate look in his eyes. "Why don't I go get Dayle some tea." he offered and disappeared behind a door directly off the console room.

Over near the console, Sienna saw her friend was leaning, staring off in to space. His jaw was clenched. Sienna knew that look. She made her way over to him.

"You alright Si?" she asked tentatively.

He looked up at her and a small smile came to his face. "Hey See. Glad you're alright. You sorta conked out after you did your healing thing on Dayle." He sounded friendly but something was obviously off about his voice.

Sienna shrugged dismissedly. "Yeah, it happens." She studied him. "So... Savannah...?" she trailed off.

Silas looked down at his hands and sadness overtook his face. "Yeah, Savannah." he said at length, then shrugged. She realized there were tears in his eyes.

Sienna was getting the distinct feeling that there was something going on beyond friendship there. How interesting. And a bit fucking weird.

She cleared her throat. "So what's the plan? Has the other Doctor figured anything out yet?"

Silas sighed. "He's mostly been consoling Dayle. She's a total wreck. She's blaming herself." He shook his head and his expression hardened. "This is my fucking fault."

Sienna narrowed her eyes at him. "How is it _your_ fault dumbass?"

"I told them to stay behind when we came to find you. I told them not to come with us." He put his face in his hands. "I'm such an idiot."

"If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." the older Doctor suddenly interrupted. He was standing right beside them. He glanced back at Dayle who sat silently in her chair, staring off into the distance. "I should have made certain that they made it to the TARDIS safely before proceeding." He looked like he felt as guilty as Silas did.

Sienna made a sound of frustration. "Oh for fuck's sake. This happened _because_ of me. Okay? She was literally taken because he was after _me._ So if we're playin the blame game here, I think I'm pretty much the winner." She pushed herself away from the console and headed back into the corridor. This was all too fucking much. She needed some time to think.

She wandered down the hall and when she came to a door, a tremendous sense of deja vu struck her and struck her hard. Her heart was racing as she pushed the door open and walked into a TV room with a big comfy green sofa.

She had been here before with her Doctor. She was certain.

 _I'm flattered that you were jealous._

 _But there was no logical reason for me to feel that way..._

Sienna walked toward the couch, the memory becoming clearer. She sat down on the sofa, squinting as she remembered. The Doctor had been jealous that she was texting Silas. He had made a complete ass of himself in front of her mother. And then...

 _Don't you sleep?_

Then she had invited him to sleep with her... in a bedroom... Sienna stood and turned to look behind her. That door. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she headed for the room. She felt slightly disconnected. Surreal.

She pushed the door open and found a tiny bedroom with a comfortable looking bed. On the bedside table sat a paperback copy of East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

She stared at the bed, remembering everything. They had only slept, cuddled up to one another. But then the next morning he had gotten aroused and she had started to seduce him.

She grew warm remembering straddling his lap and tentatively brushing her lips against his, unable to find the courage to really lay one on him.

 _Sienna, are you alright?_

 _Don't mind me. I'm just drowning._

"Sienna, are you alright?"

The Doctor's voice right behind her made her jump a foot off the ground.

"Jesus! Are you trying to give me a heart attack." Sienna felt all kinds of flustered seeing him in that moment. She felt like their little intimate episode in this bed had just happened.

He studied her. "We're meeting up in the library attempting to come up with a plan. The other Doctor is reading up some on Apeiron in the old Gallifrey legends. We're hoping we can find something that can lend a little insight into what Maren might have in her possession. I'm sure we could use some of your ideas though." His voice was encouraging, clearly trying to get her involved so she wouldn't sulk alone, blaming herself.

Sienna blinked and swallowed, trying to recover her composure. "Yeah. Okay... sure." She started to follow him out of the small room but couldn't help glancing back at the bed.

The Doctor closed the door behind them, then looked up at her. "You remember that room, don't you?" He sounded curious, at least not all moody like he'd been the previous night.

Sienna tried to speak but found her voice out of sorts. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I do remember." She chewed her lip nervously. She felt slightly embarrassed, but had to ask. "One thing... what was all that about drowning?"

The Doctor sighed and leaned against the wall. "Before what happened in that room, not long after we first met, you tried to kiss me once. And when I didn't try to stop you, you panicked a bit. You later told me you were scared. That you felt you were _in over your head_. Because..." He suddenly seemed to find his hands fascinating. "You said because I'm not like other guys you've kissed." He smiled self consciously, finally making eye contact. "Whatever that means." He shrugged, then gestured toward the door that led to the corridor. "Shall we?"

Sienna felt strange and awful and confused. She shook her head, hoping to hold back the tears she knew were imminent. "Go on." she murmured. "I'll be there in just a minute."

The Doctor was looking at her with some concern. "Alright then. But don't be long. We'll need to make a move soon to ensure Savannah's safety." He studied her for a moment longer, then headed toward the corridor. At the door he turned. "We're just over in the library two doors down on the left. Join us soon, won't you?" And then he was gone.

When he'd gone Sienna slid down the wall she was leaning against and began to cry. She felt utterly wrecked. First the guilt about Savannah and now these bizarre pseudo feelings invading from her recovered memories. Like echoes. Feeling these echoed emotions was a bit like trying to hear something underwater. All muffled and distorted. It was an eerie sensation.

Her mind was so muddled, she didn't know which way was up.

She cried silently for a moment, feeling helpless. Little by little though, she pulled herself together and got back to her feet.

She paced the TV room, turning everything over in her mind. One thing was for goddamn sure. Those crazy bitches weren't going to lay a single finger on Savannah Moss if she had anything to do with it. Sienna was who they were after, and Sienna was who they would get.

She made her way quietly down the hall to the bedroom she'd slept in and found her combat boots on the floor at the foot of the bed. They were still soaking wet from her little swim in Moira Swamp. She stuck her sockless feet into the squishy wet boots and laced them up. She took a deep breath, then headed for the console room.

Nobody in sight.

The Doctor was going to be livid. Silas too.

But she wasn't about to let some pregnant girl, a girl who her best friend apparently cared for a great deal, get hurt in her place.

And besides, there was something else of interest to her in the caves of the Sisterhood.

The Sacred Flame, and hopefully with it the rest of her lost memories.

* * *

The two Doctors had connected telepathically to catch each other up on all that had transpired.

Five was fascinated to learn that Savannah's unborn child was telepathic and had been channeling Sienna's memories into her dreams- a distress call from the TARDIS, straight to another universe. Also how very different things had played out on Karn in the other universe.

"So you actually know this Ohila?" he asked Twelve incredulously.

"Quite well actually." he confirmed grimly. "I wouldn't exactly call her a friend but it brings me no joy to learn she's been wiped from time in this universe." He rubbed his forehead, troubled.

Five was sitting in a chair beside an antique globe. He narrowed his eyes. "It's become fairly clear that whatever has given Maren these unnatural powers is the very object the Master is after." He remembered back to the Tertiary Console Room. The last time he heard the Master speak. "He said something about collecting his eternity."

Silas suddenly perked up on the small sofa where he sat with his arm around Dayle. "Savannah had a dream about that conversation."

"So whatever this device is, it has something to do with eternity." Twelve was pacing the library, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "What exactly are we looking for? A machine? A clock?"

Five nodded. "Likely something small."

"Hey, is Sienna alright?" Silas interrupted suddenly. "I thought you said she'd be joining us." There was a great deal of concern in his eyes and it gave the Fifth Doctor a bad feeling. It _was_ taking her an awfully long time...

He jumped out of the chair so fast, he nearly knocked it over. They all turned to look at him, blinking in surprise.

He didn't pause to explain, just quickly made his way into the corridor. He entered the TV room to find it empty. His hearts sped up as he remembered the time she'd gotten upset with him and fled his TARDIS without a word.

 _She wouldn't..._

He ran back to the room she'd been asleep in, remembering her bare feet and her wet boots that he'd observed on the floor near the bed.

When he walked in and found only a small puddle of swamp water where they'd been, he uttered a few Gallifreyan curse words and slammed his fist against the wall.

"What happened?" Silas was suddenly standing in the doorway, looking quite alarmed. He wasn't alone. Dayle and the other Doctor were right behind him.

The Doctor threw his hands up. "It seems she's decided to be a hero and run to the Sisterhood on her own." He kicked the bedside table as hard as he could. "I can't _believe_ I actually walked out of that room and left her with that look on her face."

"Alright, that's _enough_!" Dayle suddenly shouted, making them all jump. It was the first coherent thing she'd said in hours. "Sitting around and wallowing in guilt and self pity is _not_ going to help these girls. We need to get our asses over there and start knocking some witches skulls together." She crossed her arms, her jaw set angrily.

After a brief silence, she continued. "And if one of you motherfuckers _dares_ to tell me I'm staying behind because it's too dangerous, I will make the rest of your life not worth living. Are we quite clear?" Her beautiful blue gray eyes flashed dangerously and the Doctor didn't doubt for a moment she meant what she said.

He cleared his throat. "Right. So... we do have Ohica on our side. Perhaps she can be of some assistance." He lead the way down the corridor to the console room. He was half hoping to find Sienna in there but wasn't surprised when it was empty.

"Okay. But how the hell do we find her?" Silas asked, leaning on the console. "Is there an Altruistic Witch Hotline that I'm unaware of?"

The Fifth Doctor rolled his eyes. "I've spoken with her once already. She was expecting me when I sought her out before. We just hope she's expecting us to seek her out again."

Twleve sighed and approached the console. "I suppose we need to get closer to the cave, see what we can see." He studied the navigational display and tapped a few keys. He flipped a switch and the TARDIS hopped to another location, presumably closer to the caves.

"We certainly can't go lurking around the caves with these two if we want to remain hidden." The Fifth Doctor pointed out. "The Sisterhood will pick up their human minds in no time."

"Agreed." Twelve responded. "It will have to be one of us."

"Well it makes the most sense for you to stay behind and man your TARDIS while I go check things out. We can keep in touch with technology."

He was antsy to get going. He was going to find Sienna. And once she was safe he was going to give her a piece of his mind. Of all the selfish, childish, careless decisions. That woman. He swore she would one day be the death of him. He had the unsettling urge to slam her into a few more walls.

Twelve dug through a drawer beneath the console and came out with a tiny earpiece. "Here. This will work quite well as a communication device."

Five nodded and stuck the ear piece into his ear.

"You be very careful. We'll be right behind you." Dayle gave him a hug, then looked up in to his eyes. She smirked. "You'd better calm down before you find Sienna."

Marvelous. Dayle had telepathically picked up his state of mind about Sienna.

"I'll see you all soon." He turned to go.

"Hey wait. What exactly happened back at the castle?" Silas wondered. The Doctor turned, hoping his face didn't appear as red as it felt.

"Yes." Twelve chimed in, his eyes narrowing curiously. "That period of time was conspicuously absent in our telepathic conference. Did those swamp creatures start that fire?"

Five furrowed his brow. "A bit of a long story. Must dash now." And he quickly exited the TARDIS before the topic could be explored any further.


	30. Chapter 30

**_"When you reach the end of what you should know,_**

 ** _you will be at the beginning of what you should sense."_**

 ** _-Kahlil Gibran_**

* * *

 _Near the Cave of the Sisterhood, Karn_

The Master led Savannah around the back way, explaining that he wished to avoid the more conspicuous route over the mountain. They'd walked for about an hour in the dark until the suns came up. She trudged along silently with no expression on her face, her eyes dead and empty.

Suddenly he stopped and grabbed her arm, pulling her behind a strand of trees. "Keep quiet now." he instructed in a whisper. Savannah complied.

Apparently whoever the Master had thought he'd seen had passed because he prodded her to continue as before. "Go on Sienna. Not too much further now. Just up around this bend." He chuckled.

"I will obey." Savannah murmured robotically.

When they rounded the bend, the Master stopped her once more. He peeked out from behind a large boulder to an open area right in front of the mouth of a cave.

"The entrance to the cave is just ahead." the Master explained eagerly. "I want to time this just right. It won't do us much good to-"

That was when Savannah reared back and kicked him in the nuts from behind as hard as she could.

He hit the red dirt like a sack of gravel. Savannah stood over him as he writhed in pain.

"Wasn't sure if Time Lords were vulnerable in their naughty bits like human dudes." She shrugged. "I took a chance."

She rifled through his pockets and came up with the device he'd used to paralyze her and her mother. She threw it on the ground and stomped it to smithereens.

The Master couldn't seem to form words. Just groans and occasional mouth sounds.

Savannah started to leave, then walked back and peered down at him with a smile on her face, in much the same way he had peered down at her when she'd been paralyzed. "By the way. Don't ever fuck with my mom again."

He rolled to his side, still unable to talk but looking like the pain was subsiding. She figured she'd pushed her luck as far as it could go and took off running for all she was worth, not even caring which direction. Her only thought was to get _away_ from that lunatic.

When he'd taken her from the swamp, he'd picked up her lifeless form and then pressed a few buttons on some device he wore around his wrist. And suddenly they were somewhere else. No sign of the swamp or the burning castle. Savannah thought she recognized the wrist gadget as a Vortex Manipulator like the one that Ohila had used to depart.

The Master had quickly set her down on the ground and knelt beside her. "I don't think I quite have it in me to carry you all the way to the Sisterhood. So why don't you look into my eyes. If you are a very good girl, I'll let you walk again." He'd given another of his icky little laughs. "But only if you obey me."

It had been fairly clear he was trying to hypnotize her. She remembered what Silas had said about Sienna being in a trance when the Master had taken her away.

It was equally as clear that his little parlor trick wasn't working on _her_ , for whatever reason. So she just went along with it. Better to act like like she was under his mind control than to be a useless pile of meat that couldn't move.

She'd waited for just the right moment to catch him off-guard. It had been both effective and gratifying.

Unfortunately, that was as far as her little plan went. Now she was just wandering alone on this creepy fucking planet.

Savannah followed a path that led down a hill toward some woods. Promising, especially since it led her _away_ from the cave of the Wayward Sisters.

Then she began to feel very strange, a bit lightheaded. She felt a familiar tickling sensation at the back of her mind. She stopped walking and her eyes narrowed. It was like the time the Doctor had touched her temples and tapped into her mind telepathically.

That was when she started to hear talking inside her head. But it was all garbled. Women whispering over one another

She put her hands to her ears and scanned the trees around her. She felt like she was going insane.

The words started to become clearer and she realized it was voices chanting.

 _Sacred fire. Sacred flame..._

Suddenly there was a puff of ozone and a slight zapping sound and the Master appeared before her. As unpleasantly surprised as she was to see him, she couldn't help but be proud of the fact that he could barely stand upright and walked with a slight limp.

She backed into the brush searching the ground for something to use as a weapon. She was vaguely aware that she'd somehow blocked out whatever had been happening in her mind. She no longer heard the creepy chanting.

"You are one stubborn, scheming little rodent." the Master seethed, advancing on her. He was pale and it was the first time she'd seen him angry. He'd been, for the most part, a cheerful lunatic since she'd made his acquaintance. There was a different kind of scary in his eyes now and she felt ice shoot down her spine.

He backed her into a tree. "Nowhere to go now Sienna." He moved in closer and invaded her personal space. Her lip curled in disgust as he reached out to stroke her face. "And I don't think the Doctor will get to you in time."

The only thing Savannah felt more than fear at the moment was fury. "Die in a hole." she spat, her eyes narrowed. Whatever he thought he was going to do to her, he'd get one hell of a fight.

He grabbed her roughly by the face. "You think you're so very clever with your witty comebacks. You've yet to see-"

Just then, someone behind him clocked him right on the head with something heavy and he hit the ground. Again.

Savannah blinked.

Standing there was a young woman holding a large piece of wood. She was also wearing a familiar red robe. _Oh shit_. Talk about out of the frying pan...

"Do not be afraid Savannah." the peculiar looking chick assured. "I am here to help." As she spoke, she bent over the Master and pressed a few buttons on his wrist gadget. He vanished in a puff of smoke and the young woman looked quite pleased with herself. She returned her attention to Savannah. "I trust you are uninjured?"

Savannah felt herself nodding. She didn't know _what_ to think. She knew these Sisterhood bitches could be bad news, but... _something_ told her she could trust this one.

"You must come quickly this way." the strange woman instructed, pulling Savannah along deeper into the woods. "You will not remain undetected for long. Your mind reached out to me. That's how I knew where to find you."

Savannah allowed herself to be pulled along. "What do you mean, my mind reached out to you? I'm not telepathic. I'm the wrong generation for that power of Pythia business."

"It matters not when you are in such close proximity to the Sacred Flame." the woman said. "You come from the bloodline of a High Priestess and your mind is opened. You have more telepathic abilities right now than you could know what to do with."

They'd reached what looked like another, smaller series of caves. The woman dragged her in to the entrance of one of the caves and they finally stopped to rest a moment.

Savannah was feeling quite winded. She hoped all this jostling about wasn't going to hurt-

"Your child is perfectly safe." The woman assured her. "Exercise is quite good for pregnant women." A shadow crossed her face suddenly. "Or so I've been told."

Savannah was looking at the woman in wonder, still trying to catch her breath. This chick had just read her mind, without even laying a finger on her. "Who _are_ you?" she asked finally.

"I am Ohica of the Sisterhood of the Sacred Flame." she answered formally.

Savannah's brow furrowed, thinking back to their little story hour with Ohila in her mother's living room. "Ohica." she repeated. "You saved my great grandmother's life."

Ohica's eyes studied Savannah closely. "And you look so much like her." the strange woman looked sad. "Theia was the kindest individual I've known in my life." She raised an eyebrow. "And I've had a very long life."

"She was friends with your daughter, right? Ohila."

Ohica's face turned stony. "Yes. I believe she was." she said at length.

Savannah narrowed her eyes at the cryptic response, then cleared her throat. "So, like. Thanks. For saving me from that bastard. Where did you send him any way?" she wondered.

A sly smile came to Ohica's face. "Gallifrey of course. I believe the High Council would like to have a word with him."

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Karn_

The three of them were waiting in the control room to hear something from the young Doctor. He had been gone for nearly two hours and Silas was beginning to get restless.

"Silas. Go to the wardrobe and find something dry to wear." The older Doctor exploded suddenly. "If you shift in your seat once more, I'm going to throw you back in the swamp."

Silas just rolled his eyes. "Like I know where the wardrobe is."

Dayle crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at the Doctor. "First of all, find your chill." she instructed him. The Doctor shrugged, still looking grumpy. Dayle continued, "Second of all, he's not antsy because he's in wet jeans, he's antsy cause he's in love with Savannah and doesn't know what to do with himself."

Silas nearly choked on his own tongue at her words. _Talk about overstating_ , he thought, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. Care about? Yeah. Like a lot? Definitely. But love...

Dayle was looking at him with a smirk. "You can think what you'd like Si. I'm not wrong." She tapped her forehead. "Telepathic, remember?" She smiled for the first time since everything had gone wrong, showing dimples. "And the wardrobe is the fourth door down on your right."

He stood automatically, despite not actually giving a shit about what he was wearing. He headed on down the corridor to find some clothes feeling very shook. Hanging around with telepaths sorta sucked.

Silas entered the fourth door and found an enormous room with racks of clothes. He blinked. Where the hell was he supposed to start?

He spotted jeans before too long and was startled to see a brand he typically wore in his size. Like, the TARDIS was just like _Here you go Silas._

He shook his head and unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them off. He heard the sound of metal hit the floor.

Silas narrowed his eyes and got down on all fours. After a quick survey of the wardrobe floor, he spotted the serpent pendant. How had he forgotten this? He picked it up and studied it carefully. A double Ouroboros symbol. Stood for infinity.

His eyes went wide. "Or eternity." he whispered.

He felt adrenaline flood his system. Savannah had mistakenly left this on her bedroom floor but Silas suspected Ohila had given it to her the night before. He also suspected this little object was the key to solving everything. The object that the Master was after in this universe. The object that Maren was using to control time.

He set it on a bench and changed his clothes quickly, deciding what to do. Savannah must have been told to keep it a secret. It explained why she'd acted like she was about to hide it from him when he woke up.

He picked the pendant back up and chewed his lip thoughtfully. He was torn about how to proceed. Should he keep it a secret? What would be the harm in telling the Doctors about it? Obviously this was information they needed to know.

Yet something... something told Silas to keep quiet. Instinct or intuition or whatever one wanted to call it insisted that it was fate for him to have it in his possession. After everything that had happened, Silas, unlike the Doctor, _did_ believe in fate. What were the chances that Silas would have ended up with the damn thing? Everything had to have happened _just so_ for him to be holding it in his hand.

Savannah had to have it out looking at it when she got distracted, then dropped it, then forgot about it. Then he had to find it, inadvertently bring it with him to another flippin _universe_ and somehow manage to _not_ lose it in the swamp.

He tucked it into the back pocket of the new jeans he'd put on and headed back out to the console room, wondering just what the hell he was going to do with the thing. It occurred to him he should avoid letting Dayle touch him from here on out. If they found out he was hiding it, they probably _would_ throw him in the swamp.

He returned to his seat and looked Dayle and the Doctor over. They didn't seem to suspect anything. The Doctor was casually leaning against the console and Dayle was in one of the chairs nearby the Doctor. Silas considered how he might get the information he needed.

He cleared his throat. "So... any ideas yet on what the Master guy wants?"

The Doctor scowled. "Isn't that the million dollar question?" he scoffed. He shrugged helplessly. "My guess is it's an item that Maren got from Anteros before she went to Karn. Something small enough-"

" _Sacred pendant_." Dayle blurted suddenly.

Silas nearly fell out of his seat. Holy shit. Was she _still_ reading his mind?

The Doctor took one step toward her, his eyebrows drawn down severely. "What is it Dayle?"

Dayle was clutching the arms of her chair in a deathgrip, her face excited from her sudden epiphany. "When Ohila was talking to us, she mentioned that Anteros gave her a sacred pendant that his father gave him. Don't you remember?"

The Doctor's eyes went wide. "The Pendant of Apeiron." he whispered in disbelief. "Thought to have been lost when Anteros atomized himself." Then he seemed to realize something and squeezed his eyes shut in frustration for a moment. "Of _course_!" he half shouted, looking thoroughly disappointed with himself. "The Pendant of Apeiron. Otherwise known as the Pendant of _Eternity_. I'm such an idiot to have missed this." He shook his head in disgust.

"So how exactly does the thing work?" Silas asked quickly, his heart beating so loud he was sure everyone else could hear it too.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and grabbed a book from the console that he'd retrieved from the library. He rifled through a few pages until he found the spot he was seeking.

"According to all accounts, the Pendant of Apeiron was a multi function apparatus." The Doctor revealed, scanning the page for details. "It protected the wearer from targeted temporal meddling and could also be used as... well, something of a weapon."

Silas felt a rush of hope at the Doctor's words. It could be worn as protection. If Savannah was wearing it...

"So how exactly is it supposed to be used as a weapon?" Dayle wondered, walking over to peer at the old tome over the Doctor's shoulder. She squinted at the pages and made an annoyed face. "Seriously? You're reading a bunch of circles and lines? Why doesn't the TARDIS translation deal work for Gallifreyan?"

The Doctor chuckled. "Because Time Lords already know Gallifreyan. There's no reason for a TARDIS to translate it for them."

Dayle put her hands on her hips. "Well. Apparently not _all_ of them know Gallifreyan. I _am_ part Time Lady after all, aren't I?"

The Doctor grinned at this and put his arm around Dayle's waist. "Well perhaps I can teach you a bit sometime."

Silas saw Dayle's eyes sparkle at his words. "Well, for now, maybe just answer my question. How is the Pendant used?"

The Doctor sighed. "Apparently as protection, it need only be worn. Anyone, regardless of their powers, would be guarded against any attacks on their timeline. They would be protected from any similar devices and even from Rassilon's Time Scoop and the Oubliette of Eternity." He scratched his head and seemed to have a thought. "But to _use_ the Pendant offensively. It could only be activated via telepathy."

Understanding dawned on Silas and apparently on Dayle as well. "So Anteros gave the Pendant to Maren to protect her from his father's wrath." Dayle murmured.

"And the Maren of the other universe couldn't have used it for anything _but_ protection because she didn't have natural telepathy. Right?" Silas hypothesized.

"So it would seem." the Doctor confirmed.

"Is this what the thing looks like?" Dayle asked suddenly, studying the book a bit more intently. "Two snakes?"

Silas felt his heart skip a beat. He jumped up and went over to look at the book. He had to be sure.

The Doctor nodded. "The Pendant features a double Ouroboros symbol. Two snakes eating their own tails."

Silas felt relief overtake him when he glanced down at the pages. At an exact picture of the pendant he had tucked away in his pocket.

"So we just need to find it then, right?" Dayle concluded. "If we can figure out where this evil bitch keeps the Pendant, we can take it and stop her."

"You make it sound so simple." The Doctor countered. "But Dayle, I assure you. The Sisterhood is a formidable force on their own. With this power at her disposal, Maren is doubly so."

Dayle made a sound of frustration. "Why hasn't Blondie been in contact yet? We can't sit around here forever waiting for him. If we don't hear from him soon, we need to make a move. He could be in danger himself."

The Doctor pressed his lips together, seeming to consider her words. "I say we give him another thirty minutes. If we don't hear anything by then, we have no choice but to go after him."

Silas was busy plotting his own rescue mission. As soon as he had the chance. As soon as he could get away unobserved. He was going after Savannah himself. He was going to get the pendant to her for protection.

There was one thing troubling him though. He needed to ask the Doctor one more question.

He cleared his throat, striving for casually curious. "So... if these Sisters are so all-knowing and can read each others thoughts and even see shit before it happens... how has nobody else detected this pendant after all these years? How has nobody got it away from Maren and stopped her?"

The Doctor crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed. Silas felt just a tiny bit proud for bringing up a question the Doctor had clearly yet to consider on his own.

"I suppose she _would_ have to keep it hidden..." The Doctor said softly, still thinking.

"And how exactly do you hide something from a bunch of psychics?" Dayle wondered.

The Doctor sighed and paced the control room. "The only time in the history of Karn that anyone successfully hid something from the Sisterhood for any length of time was-"

"The castle!?" Dayle broke in.

"Yes... the castle." The Doctor said, sounding mystified.

"Because of the Mattress stone or whatever, right?" Silas asked.

"Matricite." the Doctor corrected in an annoyed tone. "But yes."

"Well surely she wouldn't be keeping the thing in the castle, right?" Dayle insisted.

"She better hope not." Silas mumbled, thinking of the burning structure.

"No." the Doctor agreed. "But the Matricite that Solon used to have the castle built... it must have come from somewhere."

"You think there's a Matricite source somewhere here on Karn." Dayle guessed.

"Well there must be." the Doctor shrugged. "And wouldn't it just be the perfect spot to hide something from a planet full of telepaths?"


	31. Chapter 31

**_"Good men don't need rules._**

 ** _Today is not the day to find out_**

 ** _why I have so many."_**

 ** _-The Eleventh Doctor (from A Good Man Goes to War)_**

* * *

 _Near the Cave of the Sisterhood, Karn_

Sienna pretty much immediately regretted the fact that she had put on her wet boots barefoot. As she trudged along toward the red mountain that the Doctor had pointed out to her the night before, she muttered under her breath, cursing herself. She was going to have some pretty serious blisters on her feet.

Why hadn't she just looked around a bit to see if she could find shoes elsewhere in the TARDIS? From her experience with her Doctor's TARDIS, it seemed she was perfectly capable of providing whatever one might need. Of course, Sienna seriously doubted either TARDIS would approve of her decision to go rogue.

It took her damn near two hours to reach the small mountain. By the time she got there, her feet were throbbing and burning and she bent to loosen the laces, striving for some relief. The thought crossed her mind that she'd like to chuck the damn things into the nearest black hole.

Suddenly Sienna's mind was assaulted with the same sensation she'd experienced several days earlier when talking to the Master on that phone on the TARDIS. It was like... too much was trying to rush in all at once. She had to lean against the base of the mountain, her heart pounding in her ears.

 _Black hole... black hole... black hole_

Sienna took a deep breath and tried not to panic. She knew it was her memory returning. The thought of a black hole simply must have triggered something...

The next thing she knew, it was like she wasn't on Karn at all. Wasn't standing outdoors at the base of a red mountain. Wasn't wearing wet, squelchy combat boots. She was back in the TARDIS, in the console room. Barefoot. It was just her and her Doctor standing there.

The Doctor was speaking to her. Just as clear as if she was right there. Like it was happening right now.

 _All over again_.

"There's one way I know of to resolve the paradox and ensure your survival at the same time." he was saying. She was aware that she was feeling terribly anxious. Like she knew she was not going to like what he was about to tell her. "By reconciling the two outcomes that exist simultaneously. It involves creating a binary black hole and then sending a burst of anti-time past the event horizon straight to the singularity point." His blue eyes remained inscrutable, his voice overly casual. "It's like rewinding the tape. Straight back to the inception point of the paradox. Would completely straighten out cause and effect."

She felt her voice shaking when she asked the question she feared she already knew the answer to. "How exactly does the anti-time enter the black hole?"

In the next moment, she was in his arms, his face near her ear. "An exploding TARDIS should do the trick."

Sienna blinked and was once more at the base of the mountain separating her from the Sisterhood's cave. She was startled to find she was filled with anguish. With grief and anger and helplessness. She had even started to cry. As if he had just now blown a hole in her universe.

 _All over again._

Sienna tried to collect herself. Tried to keep in mind that all that bullshit was done and over with. That time had moved forward, that the Doctor was safe.

She wiped her eyes, set her jaw and began to climb up the mountain. The desire to slap the shit out of him stayed with her. Who the fuck did he think he was, trying to sacrifice himself like that? To just make that decision without discussing things with her. And then deciding _for_ her that she would never be able to remember what they'd had. That she would never remember the way he made her feel. She wouldn't remember his smile or his eyes or his kiss or the way he touched her...

Sienna paused in her climb, her heart pounding in her ears once more. She hadn't quite reached the summit but she _had_ reached a pretty significant conclusion.

She did love him. Right now. Not past tense. She was ridiculously, madly in love with the condescending, know-it-all dickhead Time Lord who she had very nearly lost and forgotten forever.

"Well isn't that convenient?" she grumbled to herself. "Might have been useful to recognize _before_ I was headed off to my imminent death."

At the top of the mountain she looked down and watched as a few members of the Sisterhood gathered, talking outside of the cave's mouth. It occurred to her that they may be able to sense her mind here. After all, the Doctor had kept her at Solon's castle to keep her from being detected telepathically...

" _Is it really you, Daughter of Karn_?" An old woman's voice suddenly scared the bejesus out of her, made her lose her grip and tumble down several feet onto a shelf of rock. She very nearly went over the small cliff's ledge.

Sienna sat up quickly, backed away from the edge and looked all around her. There was nobody nearby.

" _Oh I am not with you physically Sienna. Not yet. I am merely in your mind_." the woman was obviously delighted that she had frightened her. And it thoroughly pissed Sienna off.

She brushed dirt and small pebbles off her scraped palms and narrowed her eyes. She focused her mind and sent along her own little telepathic message. " _Let me guess... Is that you Granny dearest_?"

A raspy laugh filled her head. _"Oh, aren't you so very clever_?" Maren declared, sounding proud and almost affectionate.

The familiarity in the evil bitch's tone sent a shiver down Sienna's spine. She crossed her arms and tried her best to drive all fear from her mind. She wasn't about to give Maren the satisfaction. " _I take it you've been expecting me? Oh and of course, my good friend the Doctor. Surely you've been expecting him as well_?"

There was a moment's pause and Sienna knew that her little reference to the prophecy had managed to strike fear in the old woman.

This time Maren's voice wasn't quite so friendly. " _It's a shame you've come alone. Haven't you girl? Trying to be so brave. Trying to play hero. You needn't have bothered. Your friend Savannah has somehow escaped the Master. Has evaded the Sisterhood entirely. And I wouldn't have harmed her either way. She isn't of this universe. I know exactly what is going on._ "

Sienna felt a potent mix of emotions wash over here. A combination of relief and joy that Savannah might actually be safe and the grim realization that she had brought herself into harm's way for no reason. And she was also struck by the certainty that she needed to get the hell out of here and _now_.

" _It's been real swell catching up Maren. But I've got places to be._ " She jumped to her feet on the rocky outcropping and began to make her way back up to the top of the mountain.

That raspy, unsettling laugh filled her head once more as Sienna's left hand reached the red mountain's summit.

And suddenly it was a series of voices in her head. Chanting...

 _Sacred fire, sacred flame. Sacred fire, sacred flame._

For some reason, this scared Sienna worse than any of the previous telepathic communications. She scrambled for all she was worth to the top of the mountain, losing one of her boots in the process.

And then it was like her surroundings began to shimmer and fade all around her. She blinked, gripping the rocks with all her might. What the hell was happening to her? She felt dizzy and nauseous and strangely insubstantial. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the craziness to pass.

The nausea and dizziness went as quickly as they'd come. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She gasped.

She was no longer outdoors, on the mountain beneath the two suns. She was indoors, someplace quite dim. She could hear the crackling of a fire.

"Welcome Sienna Woods, Daughter of Karn, Daughter of Earth." Sienna's head snapped up to see she was surrounded by a group of creepy red-robed women. It didn't take a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that she had been teleported into the cave of the Sisterhood.

Sienna was at the base of a familiar dais and atop the dais sat a woman with a familiar, bitter face. _Maren_. "Welcome to the last day of your life." Maren smirked. "Sisters. Seize her. The time has finally come to place the bait in the trap. The trap for the Time Lord."

Sienna struggled to get to her feet and was grabbed on all sides by at least a dozen women. She looked among the faces, searching for the one face from her dream. For Ohica, the one who had helped her great grandmother Theia all those years before. But she was nowhere to be found.

As they tried to drag her away, Sienna continued to fight them with all her strength. She lost her other combat boot in the process.

"You will _not_ use me to hurt the Doctor. I promise you I will fucking kill you _myself_ if you hurt him!" she screamed at Maren.

Sienna turned her face and bit one of the hands that clutched at her. She bit so hard that she drew blood. The woman to whom the hand belonged shrieked in pain and let go and Sienna managed to break free long enough to punch another one of the women in the face. She felt the nose crunch beneath her fist. Before she could do any more damage, Sienna found herself forced against the cave wall.

Someone had her by her hair and slammed her head into the stone wall three times. Four times. She felt blood seep from the wounds, down her scalp in the back and down the front into her eyes. They were going to fucking kill her. Crack her head open and kill her right here.

When they slammed her skull against the wall for a fifth time, the edges of her perception began to shimmer a bit. She realized that having your head bashed in was actually similar to the sensation of being teleported. Except now, she was pretty damn sure she was dying.

As Sienna lost consciousness, the cave around her disappeared. In a way, she _was_ teleported. Teleported once more back to the memory of the Doctor saying good bye to her on the other Doctor's TARDIS.

She felt his arms squeezing her tightly, keeping her from falling over as words rushed out of his mouth.

"Listen, I need you to remember something. Never forget it, no matter what else happens. I love everything about you. Your kindness, your beauty, your preternatural wisdom. I love your flaws and your pain and the fact that you are somehow always barefoot."

As the wicked red-robed women dragged her now lifeless body from the cave out into broad daylight, toward whatever trap they had set for the man she loved, Sienna was aware of none of it. She now saw only darkness and heard only the haunting strains of an old Nat King Cole song.

 _And the moment I can feel that_

 _you feel that way too..._

 _that's when I'll fall in love with you..._

* * *

When the Doctor left the TARDIS to go after Sienna, it occurred to him that it might be best to take the back way rather than over the red mountain. It would take longer but there was far less of a chance he'd be seen approaching the caves.

As he rounded the last bend that would put him near the mouth of the cave, he ducked behind a large boulder. Something on the ground caught his eye.

He knelt and saw the remains of a destroyed electronic device. Only bits of metal, glass and solenoids remained. His eyes narrowed as he picked up the pulverized pieces. He was certain he recognized just what this was. It was the remains of the Master's molecular nerve block weapon. The device the Master had used to paralyze the Doctor and more recently, Dayle and Savannah. How had it been destroyed?

The Doctor heard the sound of many distant voices, of twigs snapping and bushes rustling. He dropped the remains of the Master's device and peered out from behind the boulder. There wasn't a soul in sight but he was certain that the sounds he heard were coming from the wooded path just across the way.

He glanced from the woods to the mouth of the cave and back. Something told him to follow whoever he'd heard in the woods but he needed to be certain.

He crept from behind the boulder along the edge of the outer stone wall of the cave and quickly made his way to the opening.

It had been many years since he'd set foot in this cave but he hoped he remembered enough to find his way to the shrine.

He felt his hearts hammering against his ribcage, a horrible feeling of foreboding overtaking him as he made his way deeper into the darkness of the cave. He wasn't scared for himself, though he knew what a threat the sisterhood posed against him. The Doctor had an absolutely unshakable feeling that Sienna was already in terrible danger.

He reached a spot in the cave where a torch hung on the wall. He grabbed it and turned down an ever darker corridor and before long found himself in the shrine of the Sisterhood. The Sacred Flame burned brightly on one wall. A dais sat in the center with a throne like chair on top. The Doctor did a double take.

There on the floor beside the dais was one of Sienna's black boots. A feeling of horror seized him as he shined the torch all around him, searching for some other trace of her.

And then he saw the blood. Blood on the wall opposite the flame and a great deal more of it on the rock floor beneath. There was even a trail of blood leading out the way he'd entered that he had failed to notice on his way in.

So much blood. Too much blood. Sienna was obviously badly hurt. Or worse.

And that was when the rage overtook him. A rage he hadn't felt before in all his five lives.

Rage the likes of which one might even call murderous.

The Doctor was not a violent man. He didn't care for guns or weapons of any kind. He had always been one to find the peaceful solution. To resolve problems diplomatically through talking when at all possible.

He had a feeling there would be no talking today.

He made his way back out the way he'd came, stuck the torch back where he'd found it.

When he got outside he continued to follow the drops of blood that led him onto the wooded path. Drops of blood that were still wet.

He had only just missed them. They had passed right by him with Sienna and he had missed them. They had likely only just caused Sienna's injuries. He had been _that_ close to preventing harm coming to her. Had he simply come the direct route, over the mountain as he had once before...

This realization only served to increase his fury.

As he made his way through the woods, he found himself actually wishing that he had a gun or a blade or some other type of weapon to use against whoever had done this to Sienna.

Another, darker thought came to him. That it was just fine that he had no such weapon. Because at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to kill them with his bare hands.

He was aware of the fact that he wasn't in his right mind. That he wasn't thinking like himself. But the Doctor knew that unless he found Sienna alive and well, he might never be in his right mind again.

The blood drops tapered off and completely disappeared as he reached the deepest part of the woods. He stopped and turned in a circle.

Now what could he do?

And that was when he felt a telepathic connection take hold. There was no voice, no images. But strangely enough, a song.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes as he heard the faint sound of a song playing, the distinctive crackling sound of a record player. Nat King Cole he realized. The song was "When I Fall in Love." The significance of the tune escaped him. Where was he picking this up from? And from _whom_?

He had no choice but to try to reach out to whoever it was. It was his only chance.

" _Who is there_?" he asked in his mind. " _Who are you_?"

There was nothing. Nothing but the faint strains of the love song. _A love song from Earth_.

The Doctor chewed at his lip thoughtfully. Could this be Sienna? Perhaps so badly injured that the only thing he was able to pick up was this song in her subconscious?

The Doctor ceased all movement and closed his eyes. He placed his fingertips to his temples. Sienna might not be a full blooded Time Lord, but she _did_ have Time Lord blood. She had the power of Pythia. And she was close enough to the Sacred Flame to have amplified telepathy.

The Doctor opened his mind and used every bit of power within him to reach out, to connect with her, to find her.

" _Sienna. It's the Doctor. If this is you, if you are alive, please let me know. I need to find you. I need to know where you are._ "

And all at once it was like she was shouting inside his head.

" _You need to stay away Doctor! It's a fucking trap! STAY AWAY."_

The Doctor's eyes flew open. The madness burning within him began to subside at last.

Sienna was alive. And he'd tapped into her mind. He actually still felt a piece of her mind within his. Sensed it. The same way he could sense it when any Time Lord was nearby.

He set off once more, his jaw set. He was no longer thinking blindly violent thoughts but was every bit as angry as he'd been

Stay away, she'd told him. He laughed humorlessly. There was nothing in this galaxy or any other that could make him stay away from her.


	32. Chapter 32

**_"Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word_**

 ** _in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it_**

 ** _and hell is only a poor synonym."_**

 ** _-Stephen King (from Salem's Lot)_**

* * *

 _Asteri Cave, Karn_

"So you mean to tell me that somehow, Maren _erased_ your daughter from time?" Savannah was shaking her head, appalled at the thought. Ohica had led them deeper into what she called Asteri Cave with a torch she'd found stashed behind a boulder. Here there was a natural sitting area. The rocks formed a perfectly serviceable bench. They sat side by side talking.

Ohica's facial expression remained unreadable when she replied. "It seems that is _exactly_ what she did." Ohica's eyes narrowed as she grew thoughtful. "Nobody with the power of Pythia, not even the last Pythia herself could have accomplished something like that. Only Time Lord magic could."

Savannah felt the hairs on her arms stand on end at those words. Instant deja vu. She heard Maren's voice from her dream.

 _"The Pendant of Eternity. The Pendant of Apeiron? This is Time Lord magic!"_

Something must have showed on her face because Ohica was leaning forward, peering at her curiously. "Savannah. What have you thought of?"

"A dream." Savannah whispered. "A dream I had about Maren and Anteros saying good bye. Before Maren came to Karn."

Ohica turned completely around on the stone bench to face Savannah. She held out a hand for Savannah to hold. "Show me this dream." Ohica commanded.

Savannah was a bit confused at her words but she shrugged and gave Ohica her hand just the same.

"Close your eyes." Ohica told her gently. "And remember your dream."

Savannah did as she was told, taking Ohica through the scene of Maren's temper tantrum, of Anteros pleading with Maren to leave Gallifrey and go to Karn. Of Anteros giving the pendant to Maren.

Ohica's eyes flew open. "The Pendant of Apeiron. Could this be? Could Maren have had this power in her possession? All these years..." Ohica released Savannah's hand and stood. She sort of wandered off by herself to the other side of the small room, clearly unsettled.

Savannah for her part was mentally kicking herself.

 _The fucking pendant that Ohila had given her_. She'd told her to hold onto it, to keep it a secret. That she'd know what to do with it when the time came.

And what did Savannah do? She let sex cloud her mind and left the goddamn thing somewhere in her bedroom. In a whole other universe. She shook her head, furious with herself.

"I should have _seen_ this." Ohica was saying, sounding mystified. "There's no way she could have hidden this from _all of us_. Someone should have detected it. Someone should have known."

Savannah looked up at Ohica who was now pacing. "So you mean to tell me there are no secrets here on Karn?" Savannah wondered, intrigued.

Ohica looked up at Savannah, as if she'd forgotten for a moment that she was there. "Secrets may be kept from time to time. Short term. But there's no way someone could hide something like that on Karn all this time. There's no way someone could _use_ something like that and keep _everyone_ blocked out. Something would come through." Ohica crossed her arms, still looking incredulous. "Our minds are far too in tune to our fellow sisters. At times it's as though other minds are shouting at you."

Savannah felt a shiver race up her spine, once more considering the gravity of her current predicament. "It doesn't sound like I'll stay hidden for long either. Eventually they'll detect my mind and come for me here."

Ohica finally managed a small, if somewhat mysterious smile. "Not in Asteri Cave. There's something very special about this place." She held a hand up and touched the low ceiling. "About the stone."

Savannah squinted and looked all around them. The walls of the cave and the cave itself were a shiny pale green color with a slight sparkle, like jade with just a touch of quartz. "What's so special about this stone?" Savannah asked, running her fingertips over the greenish bench she sat upon.

"This system of caves... it was not an original formation on the planet Karn. Several centuries ago, Karn was barraged with debris from a supernova. And it wasn't just any star. It was a Population 0 Star." Ohica also seemed to be marveling at the walls of the small chamber in which they sat. "The stone is called Matricite."

 _Matricite._ Savannah remembered the Doctor telling them about the castle. "It blocks telepathy..." Savannah whispered.

"Exactly." Ohica concluded, looking pleased with Savannah's knowledge of the mineral.

Savannah still hadn't quite gotten past the supernova debris part. "So, in other words, we're inside of a _star_ right now?" she asked breathlessly.

"The remnants of a star, yes." Ohica confirmed. "Out behind these caves is a deep pit, a crater where more of the debris went straight into the ground."

"Doesn't everyone in the Sisterhood know of this place though?" Savannah questioned.

"Members of the Sisterhood seldom venture this far from the Sacred Flame." Ohica gave a self conscious laugh. "I'm afraid we are a superstitious bunch. Though we've certainly embraced science more and more over the years."

Ohica came to stand in front of Savannah. "I must leave you now, at least for a time. If I am missed for too long, Maren shall grow suspicious. Thus far I have managed to keep my thoughts related to you and Sienna and the Doctor hidden away. I must maintain outward appearances."

"Wait... you mean you're just gonna leave me here. Inside some friggin star? Alone?"

Ohica reached down and took Savannah's hand, pulled her up. "Come this way and I'll show you where I have stored some things to keep you. You will be safe here. Stay out of sight, and I shall return soon."

Ohica took the torch from the wall once more and led Savannah into yet another chamber. In this one she saw that Ohica had laid out blankets, a pillow, a red robe, some fruit that Savannah didn't recognize, a jug of water and a cup.

Yeah, it was living rough. And she was still scared to be left here alone. But Savannah got quite choked up by the care Ohica had put into her hiding spot. She turned and hugged Ohica tightly.

The strange woman didn't seem to know how to respond at first. But after a moment, she returned the embrace.

They broke apart from each other somewhat awkwardly and didn't speak for a time.

Finally Savannah looked into the woman's eyes. "Be careful. Don't put yourself in danger for me."

Ohica gave a humorless laugh. "I'm afraid we are far past that. But thank you for showing your concern." She nodded at Savannah and then was gone.

Savannah sighed and made her way over to the little bed area Ohica had made for her. She sat and reached for the nearby pitcher, realizing she was actually quite parched. She poured water into the cup and drank it down.

She leaned against the wall and just tried to relax. She felt quite grateful that Ohica had left the torch here with her. Even in broad daylight, these caves were dark without torch light.

After a time, Savannah thought she heard a commotion outside. Her eyes narrowed as she climbed to her feet.

What was going on? Had someone found her?

She headed back out toward the entrance, leaving the torch behind, despite her fear of the dark. She didn't want to draw anymore attention to herself than was absolutely necessary. She ignored the racing of her heart as she felt her way along the wall, hoping she was going back the right way.

Finally she caught sight of daylight pouring in through the entrance. She crept to the edge of the entrance and hid behind a lip of Matricite, peeking out to see what was going on.

What she saw made her gasp quietly. It was a group of perhaps ten red-robed women coming out of the woods carrying an unconscious brunette who appeared to be severely injured.

Savannah's eyes narrowed in disbelief seeing the young woman who looked just like herself.

 _Sienna_?

It had to be.

Savannah crouched low, her heart hammering against her ribcage. As the group drew closer, Savannah was able to take in more details. Was Sienna unconscious... or was she dead? Jesus Christ. What the hell had they _done_ to her? Her long brown hair was matted with blood. The clothes she wore, a pink polo t-shirt and light gray sweatpants were also splattered with blood. She was barefoot and pale and motionless.

Savannah noticed that Ohica was with them. She must have joined them just as they approached this area. Savannah's eyes went wide as they made eye contact. She saw that Ohica was giving her a stern look and a barely perceptible head gesture telling her to get back from the mouth of the cave.

Fuck that. She needed to be certain Sienna was alright first. Besides, the group was going around to the back of the cave. They weren't even looking in her direction let alone headed that way.

 _The back of the cave._ Savannah blinked, trying to remember what Ohica had said about the back of the cave.

She sucked in a breath as the group disappeared from her sight line.

A fucking crater. A deep pit.

Were they gonna...?

 _Oh man._

Savannah stayed where she was, pressed behind the lip of stone at the mouth of the cave, trying to calm her breathing. What the hell should she do? Did Ohica have this all under control?

And then she heard them talking.

"Sisters... the trap has been set." came the voice of an elderly sounding woman. "Now we must let destiny take its course."

"Yes Reverend Mother." the rest of the Sisters murmured in unison.

Had to be that Maren chick, Savannah though to herself.

"The Doctor will come. The Doctor will try to climb down and rescue this despicable little Earth creature, and he will be imprisoned. Trapped within the crater. And upon my return, I shall personally finish him off."

"Yes Reverend Mother." came the identical sounding response.

There was a moment of silence, followed by Maren's voice, now sounding somewhat sly, "Oh... and there is one more matter... we have among us a traitor. I saw in Sienna's mind... I saw that she was looking around for _Ohica_ to save her back at the cave."

There was a collective gasp among the gathered Sisterhood.

"And where has Ohica been all this time?" Maren continued, almost in a sing-song fashion.

 _Oh no._ Savannah thought. _This can't be happening._

"Maren. There is a perfectly logical explanation for this." Ohica assured. Her voice sounded confident, not even a little nervous.

 _Please. Please please please._ Savannah thought, her heart thumping wildly, willing Maren to trust Ohica. Willing them not to harm her in any way.

"I agree." Maren replied calmly. "The explanation is that you are a _traitor_. You have been consorting with the Doctor. Perhaps even planning my demise along with him." There was only a short pause in which Ohica attempted once more to explain herself. Maren wouldn't even let her talk. "Sisters. Kill her."

Savannah felt her stomach sink, felt tears spring to her eyes. What should she do? Should she give herself away? Try to help? What the hell could she possibly do against a dozen witches though?

She had never felt more alone in her life.

Savannah watched as Maren strolled by casually, leaving the others behind to carry out the order. She didn't seem interested in soiling her own hands with the matter. She just headed on into the woods and departed.

The sounds of Ohica's screams shook Savannah to her core. She was shaking all over, crying outright. She backed her way deeper into the cave. If she went out there, Savannah knew they would kill her too. Kill her as they were killing Ohica and had possibly killed Sienna.

She turned and ran back into the dark chamber, blindly running until she reached the dimly lit room with the blanket and pillow and jug of water.

She dove beneath one of the blankets, still trembling all over. She covered her ears, tried to block out the now muffled sound of Ohica screaming.

 _They were crazy. They were actually crazy. What if they found her here..._

Savannah didn't know how long she laid there, hiding beneath the blankets. Like a coward. It had been silent for some time. She was sure the Sisterhood had left the area.

Yet she was scared to move. Scared to go see what they'd done to Ohica.

Ohica. The kind woman who had saved her great grandmother's life. Who had saved her life.

Savannah couldn't just stay here. What if something could still be done for Ohica? What if something could still be done for Sienna?

Savannah blew out a big breath and got back to her feet. She wiped her eyes and this time she grabbed the torch before she made her way back unsteadily to the front of the cave.

She had reached the small room with the stone bench when she realized she wasn't alone in the cave. She heard footsteps headed her way.

She began to back away quickly, knowing full well it was too late and she was only trapping herself. She looked down at the torch wondering if it would be any good as a weapon.

Suddenly the person came into view and she was so overjoyed at who it was that she started to cry again.

It was the blonde Doctor from her dreams. Sienna's Doctor.

" _Doctor_!" she gasped and started to fall out, suddenly overtaken by vertigo.

He reached her just in time and held on tightly.

"Easy there." he said gently, helping her to a sitting position on the stone bench. He took the torch from her hand and set it in a nearby wall mount before taking a seat beside her and allowing her to lean on him.

Savannah clutched his arm like a life raft. She was so relieved that he was here. His very presence was an enormous comfort. After all the adventures she'd dreamed with him, she felt like she already knew him.

"Savannah, I presume?" he guessed with a kind smile.

Savannah nodded, blinking away the spots dancing in front of her eyes. She had just about enough for one day. She took a few deep breaths, trying to stop crying.

He studied her closely. "Are you injured at all?" His eyes flicked to her abdomen. "Do you feel alright?"

"I'm not hurt. I'm okay." Her voice sounded strange in her own ears. "How did you find me?"

"I was tracking Sienna actually." He sighed, clearly trying to keep himself calm. "It seems she's been taken by the Sisterhood of Karn."

"Well, how the hell did that happen?" Savannah squinted up at him, trying to make sense of the series of events. Her mind felt slightly scrambled. "Didn't Silas and the other Doctor rescue you two?"

He gave her another small smile. "They did at that. But when you went missing, I'm rather afraid Sienna felt responsible for the Master mistaking you for her and set out on her own to find you."

Savannah felt guilt course through her, remembering the condition Sienna had been in. Sienna had been trying to _rescue_ her?

And then she remembered her mom, terrified beside the swamp. Her mind couldn't seem to stay on any one thing for any length of time.

"My mom! Is she alright? Is she still paralyzed?"

The Doctor reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Your mother is just fine. Sienna was able to heal her." He narrowed his eyes suddenly and looked at her quizzically. "What happened to the Master? How did you manage to get away? And what in blazes happened to his molecular nerve block device?"

Savannah felt just a touch of pride remembering how she'd handled that creepy jerk. She smirked at the Doctor. "He tried to hypnotize me and I pretended it worked. When I saw my chance I sort of... incapacitated him then destroyed the gun thingee." She shrugged.

The Doctor looked rather impressed. "Well where is he now?"

Savannah gave a little laugh. "We won't have to worry about him. Ohica used his vortex manipulator bracelet to send him on to Gallifrey." The smirk left Savannah's face. The thought of Ohica was like a kick to the stomach. Tears stung her eyes and she began to shake all over again.

There was a part of her mind that was disappointed with herself for not being able to function better under such pressure. She wanted to be brave, to be useful but instead she was a crying wreck. Fortunately, the Doctor seemed a bit better at dealing with a crying wreck than Silas did.

"Just breathe." he encouraged, "Tell me what's happened."

"Ohica." she whispered. "I... I'm pretty sure the other Sisters have killed her... right outside."

The Doctor's eyes looked as horrified as she felt.

She took a shaky breath and continued. "She brought me here to hide me. She told me this entire cave is made of that Matricite stone so I'd be safe. Then the Sisters came carrying Sienna and they... they took _her_ somewhere. Then Maren told the rest of them to kill Ohica."

"Sienna." the Doctor's eyes flew open wide. He stood and grabbed Savannah by her shoulders. "Did you _see_ Sienna? Was she alright?"

He sounded so freaked out, so desperate, Savannah wished she could lie to him. Tell him Sienna looked just fine. The picture of health. Instead she sighed, looked down at her hands and told the truth. "She looked badly hurt. There was a lot of blood. It was her head..." Savannah trailed off helplessly.

The Doctor put his hands over his face and turned around. He made an angry sound and then exhaled heavily.

He turned back to Savannah. "Where is she? Where is Sienna now?"

Seeing the Doctor in this state made Savannah temporarily forget her own horror. He looked positively devastated. And if there was one thing Savannah was good at, it was forgetting herself to take care of others. She stood and went over to him. She grabbed his hand between hers. "She's back behind this cave." she told him gently. "I have a terrible feeling they've thrown her into some pit."

The Doctor nodded silently, his expression becoming thoroughly pissed off, and began to lead the way back toward the mouth of the cave, her hand still in his. Once there, Savannah stopped and dug her heels in. He turned toward her, curious.

She swallowed and gave him a meaningful look. "It's a trap. They said Sienna is the bait. They mean to trap you."

The Doctor's kind blue eyes turned cold. A shadow fell over his face and something vaguely resembling a smile appeared. For the first time, in all the times Savannah had seen him in her dreams, he actually looked slightly terrifying.

"They really don't want to do that." he told her flatly. "Not a single one of them will actually want to deal with me after hurting Sienna." She saw him clench his jaw. "And if she is dead, I will wipe this entire planet from the Constellation of Kasterberous."

He turned and began to walk out of the cave, tugging her along. Savannah's eyes were wide as she followed behind. Dude was _not_ playing around.

As they made their way around to the side of the cave, the Doctor suddenly stopped short, obviously taken aback by what he saw. He turned to look at her, his face ashen. "Savannah. You may want to stay here for a moment. Ohica... well...it isn't pretty."

She nodded and felt the trembling overtake her once more. She stood with her back to the wall and waited while the Doctor turned the corner and made his way to where Ohica's body lay.

After a moment, he returned, his face grim. He looked into her eyes and shook his head. "I've covered her." he said softly, taking Savannah by the hand once more.

Savannah tried not to look at the figure on the ground covered with a red robe as they passed by. She tried to keep her eyes straight ahead. But she was still deeply shaken, deeply sickened by the efficient brutality with which the Sisterhood had dispatched the quiet woman. She didn't even wish to know her manner of death.

She decided to fill the silence to take her mind off the dread. "So... how exactly did you track Sienna here?" she wondered, looking over at him.

"Telepathy. My mind detected hers. She subconsciously reached out to me." His face became stony once more. "But just before I came out of the woods, it just... disappeared. Her mind just wasn't there anymore."

Savannah squeezed his hand. "Perhaps it's because this pit is made from Matricite as well." she suggested, hoping like hell that was the reason.

He gave her a grateful nod as they continued on.

Savannah couldn't see the pit until they were right up on it. When they reached it, they stood on the edge and looked down.

It wasn't huge in terms of area, really more like a large well. Perhaps seven or eight feet in diameter.

But it looked to be about thirty feet deep. Her heart leaped in her chest when she saw that Sienna's lifeless form was indeed crumpled there at the bottom.

" _No_." The Doctor gasped, kneeling down to get a closer look.


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey all! I know it's been longer than usual since I last updated but I'm back and ready to wrap this thing up. Expect about 3 more chapters to end this thing. Thanks for reading and I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have. -Ruinous79**

* * *

 _ **"You fell in love with a storm.**_

 _ **Did you really think you would get out**_

 _ **unscathed?"**_

 _ **-Nikita Gill**_

* * *

 _Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, Karn_

"Doctor, it has been well over a half hour now." Dayle pointed out sternly as she paced the control room. "I think it's time we put ourselves in the center of things."

The Doctor sighed and closed the book he'd been reading. He'd been sitting near a book shelf on the upper level of the console room, sifting through a few books he'd found on planetary geology. "I still haven't found what I'm looking for Dayle." he cautioned. "But I have a feeling in my bones, there is a site on Karn rich with Matricite. And I just know if we find that, we find that pendant."

Silas still hadn't had the opportunity to set out on his own. When he'd tried to step out for some "fresh air", he'd received such a suspicious look from Dayle, he had backed off immediately. If he was going to be any use to Savannah, he needed to be smart about the way he played this. It wouldn't do to piss off her claircognizant mother.

"Well isn't that the sort of thing that the TARDIS can detect?" Dayle insisted, sounding thoroughly exasperated. One could hardly blame her. Her daughter had been missing now for several hours.

"Under normal circumstances, she could do." the Doctor confirmed as he headed down the stairs to the main level. "But the properties of Matricite that make it impervious to telepathy also happen to make it impervious to all detection methods used by the TARDIS."

"That's just fucking great." Dayle remarked, putting her hand to her head. Silas could tell she was really down to the end of her cool. She was an explosion just waiting to happen.

The Doctor approached her, the book he'd been reading still under one arm. He looked like he was afraid he might set her off. He tentatively reached out and took her hand. "Let me take a look in the TARDIS data banks before we jump in aimlessly." He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to one side. "I promise if I find nothing during this search, we do things your way."

Dayle pressed her lips together and gazed at him with her big blue gray eyes. "Alright Time Lord. Do it."

Silas wandered over to join them at the console while the Doctor tapped in some commands and studied the computer monitor carefully.

And then suddenly, a girl's voice, full of alarm seemed to come from nowhere, startling all of them.

" _Hello._ Is anyone there? Please just tell me someone is there."

"Vannah!? Is that you baby?" Dayle asked, looking surprised and hopefully.

"Yes. God. Mom it's me. You guys gotta help." Savannah pleaded.

Silas closed his eyes and leaned against the console feeling semi sane for the first time in hours.

"Savannah, this is the Doctor. Where are you? How are you talking to us right now?" The Doctor had his arm around Dayle who was now crying in relief.

"The Doctor. The _other_ Doctor. He gave me this earpiece thing before..." She took a deep breath. "Sienna... Sienna is badly hurt. He tried to help her and then..." she trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Where _are_ you right now baby?" Dayle demanded. "We'll come get you and then we'll deal with the rest, okay?"

"I'm at Asteri Cave, it's this cave that's not too far from the the Sisterhood's caves." Savannah revealed. "You need to hurry."

"Asteri Cave?" The Doctor repeated, his eyes narrowed. "I saw something about Asteri Cave in this book on Karn." He said this last part mostly to himself.

"Yeah, it's like some kind of star remnant or something." Savannah said absently. "Made out of that Matricite shit you told us about."

The Doctor's eyes got huge and Silas found himself mirroring the very same expression.

"Savannah." the Doctor said urgently. "Who is around you right now? Are you _inside_ that cave?"

"Yeah... I came back in to get out of this storm. The Sisters put Sienna in this pit...a star crater or something behind the cave. It was a trap. Meant to trap the other Doctor." She sighed. "I told him to just wait. To see if we could get help first but he wouldn't listen. He gave me this earpiece and tried to climb down."

There was a long pause. "Then what happened Vannah?" Silas prompted gently.

For the first time, Savannah took in a shaky breath that sounded like she was crying. "I feel like I'm going crazy. The two of them just disappeared. They were there and then... the pit was empty. And then this storm started. It was like it originated inside the pit. I managed to get inside this cave before it got bad though."

"You never answered me." The Doctor interrupted, looking even more concerned. "Are you alone?"

"Yes. The sisters left after throwing Sienna in the pit... and... and killing Ohica." Her voice grew very soft. "I'm alone."

"Oh Jesus." Dayle exclaimed.

"Well there goes our one and only ally on Karn." Silas mumbled.

The Doctor didn't even seem to notice any of this. "Savannah, you need to get out of that cave. You need to run." His voice was serious as death as he began to fiddle with the settings on the control panel, clearly trying to set a course. "The TARDIS has locked onto the location of your comm device. You go anywhere and hide and we will come find you. But _get out of that cave._ " He insisted.

"But... the storm. It's pretty bad out there. And Ohica told me I'd be safest here."

Silas suddenly got it.

"Oh no." he whispered. "Savannah," he said firmly. "The Doctor thinks that cave is where Maren keeps the Pendant of Apeiron." Silas explained.

"So you guys know about the pendant too? Why do you assume it's _here_?" she asked, sounding thoroughly puzzled.

"The Matricite." The Doctor answered. "It's the only way Maren could have kept it hidden all these years."

"Uh... guys..." Dayle called in a strange voice from over near the door.

"Oh right!" Savannah exclaimed. "That's gotta be why Ohica didn't know."

"Have you gotten out of there yet?" Silas asked her impatiently. "If Maren shows up..."

"Alright I'm going!" Savannah relented.

"Seriously. _Guys_!" Dayle repeated, this time louder.

"Yes Dayle. What's the problem?" The Doctor responded, turning toward her.

"So... we're not far from this Asteri Cave now, right?" she asked, her face unreadable.

"No. Not far. Just a quick hop in the TARDIS." the Doctor assured. "Close the door and we'll be on our way."

"Doctor. It's not storming. Not remotely. It's not windy, it's not raining. Hell it's not even cloudy." she gestured toward the door emphatically.

The Doctor's brow furrowed as he walked toward her to check it out.

"Wait... what's happening?" Savannah asked, confused. "I'm at the entrance to the cave right now and it's _definitely_ storming." she informed them.

Silas squinted in confusion and also headed for the door. "What kind of storm is it Vannah?" Silas wondered.

He got to the door and joined the Doctor and Dayle in the sunslight. The sky was clear. For as far as the eye could see, no sign of any type of storm.

"Well, I mean... it's raining. But the wind is the worst part." Savannah was saying as they walked back into the TARDIS. "It's howling and the sky is so fucking dark."

"Doctor what the hell does this mean?" Dayle inquired, obviously freaking out over this latest bit of madness.

The Doctor's eyes were narrowed and he was muttering to himself. "A storm. A localized storm. Is this from the Pendant?" he shook his head.

"So, like. Should she maybe _stay put_?" Silas asked, looking between Dayle and the Doctor. Since seeing the bright sunny day, he'd been overcome by a very bad feeling. He may not know much about time and space or the planet Karn. But he knew two people had just disappeared in front of Savannah's eyes and she was talking about a storm only she seemed able to see.

The Doctor scratched his head and blew out a sigh. "Let's go. Now." he told Silas as he headed for the console. "Savannah. Stay put. Don't leave the cave until we come for you. Is that clear?"

Only silence answered.

" _Vannah_." Dayle called sharply. "Are you still there?"

Nothing.

Silas met the Doctor's eyes and saw absolute horror there.

"Vannah!" Silas joined in, still watching the Doctor.

The Doctor set his jaw, flipped a switch and pulled the dematerialization lever.

Dayle turned to look at him accusingly, her arms crossed as the engines made their distinctive wheezing sound. "Doctor!" she demanded. "What the hell just happened?"

Before the Doctor could even formulate a response, the TARDIS shuddered hard and began to make a weird stuttering sound.

"Yeah that don't sound good..." Silas pointed out, grabbing onto the railing tightly. The Doctor was frantically working at the control panel, trying different things but the TARDIS just shook and resisted everything he tried.

And then a familiar bell began to toll.

 _Bong._

The Cloister Bell. The sound they'd heard just before they'd been time rammed.

"Doctor!" Dayle shouted. "What _is_ this?"

The Doctor looked up at her gravely. "A time storm. It's why the TARDIS can't land."

"And it's what took Savannah." Dayle said softly. A statement, not a question. For the first time, she looked positively hopeless. Seeing that did something to Silas's heart.

"What's this mean?" he demanded of the Doctor. "You can get her back, right?"

The Doctor made an angry sound. "Come _on_ Old Girl. Work with me here. Just land us _beside_ the blasted storm and I'll walk over myself." He roughly flipped a pair of switches and threw the lever once more.

"What happens to you if you get caught in a time storm?" Dayle asked flatly. She actually looked like she might throw up. A bit green and unsteady on her feet.

Silas didn't think, he just walked over and took her by the arm to help her to a chair.

"It rather depends." the Doctor answered grimly. "It's sort of similar to a time fissure in that it causes temporal disturbances. But since I have a feeling _this_ particular time storm was caused by that Pendant, there's no telling what it's capable of."

" _Pendant_." Dayle snapped suddenly.

The Doctor blinked in confusion and Silas let go of her arm, suddenly realizing his mistake.

"You have the Pendant from my universe, don't you?" she accused, climbing back to her feet. Silas didn't answer. Mostly because he didn't know what to say in his own defense. Also because her eyes were looking a bit scary.

"What the devil are you talking about?" The Doctor sputtered.

Dayle narrowed her eyes and pointed at Silas. "Ask him."

Silas sighed and with a shaking hand pulled Universe A's Pendant of Apeiron from his back pocket and showed it to them. Honestly, since Savannah had contacted them, he'd kind of forgotten about it.

The Doctor's face registered confusion, then recognition, then rage, then curiosity. "Why?" he finally asked.

Silas pressed his lips together and fidgeted with the pendant. "Savannah was supposed to keep it a secret. And I ended up with it despite the fact she never intended me to see it... I didn't even know for sure that it was significant until Dayle mentioned it and you found it in your book. Hell, I forgot I had the damn thing on me til I changed my jeans." he sighed again. "I guess I thought I was _supposed_ to hang onto it. To help Savannah."

The anger had left Dayle's face. Now she looked slightly intrigued. "Well..." she began. "It's actually good that he didn't bring it up before now."

The Doctor looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "How could you say that?" he asked her.

"If we knew we had that in our possession, what would we have done?" she asked him, her hands on her hips.

The Doctor blinked. "Well, I suppose we would have headed to find Maren."

"Exactly." Dayle pointed at him. "We would have left the TARDIS. And we would have never gotten that call from Vannah. We wouldn't have even known about the time storm."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You can't _possibly_ be putting this down to fate." he barked

The stuttering sound of the engine finally began to settle down. The Doctor appeared to heave a sigh of relief. "She's landing. Finally." The TARDIS rematerialized.

"So where are we?" Dayle wanted to know.

The Doctor pulled up the scanner and peered at it curiously. "In the woods." he said at length.

Then he turned to Silas and held out his hand. "The Pendant." he demanded.

Silas looked at him, then at Dayle and back again. He hesitated.

"Come on, come on." the Doctor encouraged.

"Whoa. Guys. Look at the scanner!" Dayle shouted.

They both turned to look.

It looked like swirling black smoke as it worked its way into the woods toward them. The time storm.

"Oh shit." Silas uttered.

 _Bong_. (Said the TARDIS)

The Doctor was back at the controls, frantically trying to get them out of there.

"Can the storm even affect the TARDIS?" Dayle asked in confusion.

"I'm afraid so." The Doctor replied, fighting the controls. It was like everything was dead. Nothing appeared to be responding at all. "In fact, I'm afraid it already has."

"So what's going to happen?" Dayle asked, sounding very much afraid. "Is this thing just going to take us the way it took Vannah? The way it took the other Doctor and Sienna?"

"Take us where?" Silas wondered.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and stepped back from the useless console, his eyes back on the scanner. "Ohhh. I'm afraid it's not _where_ we need to worry about. But rather _when_."

Silas felt something buzzing inside his brain. A feeling that he'd never had before this moment. He backed away from the other two, shaking his head, hoping to clear it. He felt unreal. Detached from everything.

He looked down and noticed the Pendant of Apeiron was still in his hand. Absentmindedly, he placed the ancient yet sturdy chain around his neck.

The moment he did so, he felt something warm emanating from the Pendant into his chest. He looked down curiously. He was vaguely aware that the Doctor and Dayle were talking animatedly ten feet away, apparently not paying him any attention.

 _Go._

A voice hissed in his ear.

Startled, he looked all around him. Nobody was anywhere near. His eyes narrowed. He'd picked a hell of a time to lose his goddamn mind.

"Doctor it's total blackness on the scanner now." he heard Dayle's worried voice saying.

 _Leave the TARDIS. It's the only way._

Okay. Now Silas was _certain_ he heard someone. Inside his fucking ear.

He glanced down and noticed the Pendant was glowing an amber color.

Was this the _Pendant_ talking to him somehow? Was the damn thing sentient? If so, it would seem the legend had left out a rather pertinent chunk of information.

He really didn't even notice when he began to back toward the door of the TARDIS. It wasn't until his back was at the door that he realized he intended to follow the voice's command.

"Silas honey. What are you doing over there?" Dayle asked, taking a step toward him.

 _Go. So you can help them._

Silas sighed and with a shaking hand forced the door open.

"I'll see you soon." he told Dayle and the Doctor firmly, then walked out the door and shut it behind him before they could respond.

He stepped into a strange, howling storm. He'd never seen weather that behaved like this. The winds were actually visible somehow. Currents of air that left trippy tracers in their wake. The rain did not make him wet though it poured in sheets. And the sky above was like thick, black, oily smoke.

Silas could feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest. What the hell was he doing out here?

Before he could change his mind and reenter the TARDIS, she disappeared right before his eyes.

The storm had taken her, as it had taken the others.


	34. Chapter 34

" _ **We didn't lose the game,**_

 _ **we just ran out of time."**_

 _ **-Vince Lombardi**_

* * *

 _Nowhere, Never_

Sienna was having one hell of a time waking up.

"Sienna..."

She was working on it though.

"Sienna!"

After all, how could anyone sleep when that person wouldn't shut the fuck up.

"Sienna wake up."

The voice calling to her was somewhat familiar. A woman.

Sienna half sat up, squinting and was taken aback by the identity of her wake up call.

Theia.

Her great grandmother.

 _Daughter of Karn. Daughter of Gallifrey. High Priestess for a mother. Time Lord for a father._

All these things seemed to crystallize in Sienna's mind as she stared dumbly at the young woman who looked every bit as young as she had when she'd barely escaped Karn with her life all those years ago.

"Good. At least you are aware now." The strange young woman looked pleased as she came to sit beside Sienna on the bed.

It was then that Sienna noticed her surroundings. They were in a sparsely lit cave and Sienna was laying on a bed of straw. Both women appeared to be wearing matching red robes.

She rubbed at her head in confusion. Damn she had a headache.

"Wh-what... where the hell am I?" she asked, in a voice that was croaky from lack of use.

Theia sighed with obvious impatience. "Never mind that now. We have more interesting things to talk about. You realize that mother has accidentally created a time storm." Theia crossed her arms and shook her head. "Her obsession with that prophecy is about to bring the entire planet of Karn and the Sisterhood with it to an end." She looked disgusted.

Sienna blinked, struggling to sit up all the way. "How'd I get here? The last thing I remember was..." Wait a minute. What exactly _was_ the last thing she remembered? And why did her head hurt so much?

"It was music." Theia replied, her eyes growing somewhat dreamy. "My favorite song." Theia peered down at Sienna, a hint of pride in her features. "You know the Doctor heard you. The Doctor found your mind. He came to save you." A knowing smile came to her face. "But of course he did."

"The Doctor." Sienna murmured, feeling more than a little dazed. "Where is the Doctor?"

Theia tilted her head to one side and looked at her with something akin to pity. "Don't you know? He is lost. He is out of time. I'm afraid they all are. That time storm moved in so fast." she shrugged helplessly.

Sienna rubbed at the back of her head once more. It really, truly hurt. Theia blurred before her eyes and Sienna had to blink to clear her vision. "So what can we do?" she wondered. "Is there any way to help them?"

Theia chuckled softly and stood. She walked over to the only table in the dark stone room and picked up a candle. The candle seemed to be the only source of light. It kept sputtering like it was burning in the rain, despite the fact the cave was dry. Theia brought the candle over and sat back down beside Sienna.

Theia leveled her gaze at Sienna, shadows from the candle dancing across her face. "I imagine it's far too late." she explained. "They're all out of time I'm afraid. In the end, I suppose mother would have wanted it this way. To destroy it all. To have everyone and everything on Karn go out like a candle rather than go alone at the hands of a Time Lord." An enigmatic smile crossed Theia's face and she blew out the candle.

The darkness was cold. Sienna could actually feel that. And for the very first time, she realized she wasn't afraid of the dark. The sudden absence of light strangely seemed to lessen the pain in her head.

The dark. The cold. The numbness. Sienna closed her eyes because why not? She couldn't see. Couldn't feel. What exactly mattered?

The Doctor's voice in her head, haunting and soft, answered her thoughts.

 _There is nothing bigger than this. No greater adventure. Nothing more beautiful._

Sienna felt the tears start to flow. Her eyes reopened.

"My Guardian Angel." she whispered softly

And just like that, the candle seemed to relight itself. Theia still sat where she had been, though Sienna could've sworn quite a bit of time had passed in the dark.

"There's nothing you can do for him." Theia insisted. "Just as there's nothing he can do for you. Though Rassilon knows he'll try." Theia chuckled once more and rolled her eyes. "You know, when I was dying, your great grandfather Clyde was convinced he could keep me around by sheer force of will."

"When you were... dying?" Sienna repeated, feeling disconnected. The white hot pain was back in her head. Felt like it was split in two.

"Yes well, after I'd gone to Earth and was no longer partaking of the Elixir of Life, old age finally caught up with me." She looked almost wistful as she thought back. "And my, did it happen fast. Clyde and the Doctors. None of them knew what to make of it." She giggled a bit, sounding young and care free. "Of course, I suppose old Doc Bantree was even more thrown by that second heartbeat he refused to admit he heard."

"You died." Sienna murmured, her mind starting to work properly, despite the buzzing in her brain and whatever was wrong with her head. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

"Yes, well. I'm afraid death has a tendency to catch up with all of us eventually." She looked at Sienna fondly with a half smile on her lovely face and smoothed a lock of hair back behind her great granddaughter's ear.

Sienna was starting to feel freaked out now because she was starting to notice something terribly wrong with this picture. Like, fucking downright Twilight Zone level wrong.

She tried to scoot to the edge of the straw bed and climb to her feet.

Theia looked disappointed. "No dear. Don't do that. There's no sense fighting. It's almost all over."

Sienna felt her heart thumping wildly in her chest, a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

"You never answered me." Sienna accused, finally finding her feet. She backed unsteadily into the cave's stone wall. "Where _am_ I? How the fuck did I get here?"

And then she noticed something that alarmed her more than anything else so far. Theia's hand, the one she'd used to smooth back Sienna's hair was covered in blood.

Theia stood and walked toward her slowly, still holding the sputtering candle. "Just calm down. I don't want you to be afraid. You aren't alone after all. They're here with you."

Sienna's heart skipped a beat at the cryptic words. "Please." she pleaded, her voice cracking. "Please tell me what is happening. Where am I? _Who_ is here with me?"

Theia was now standing right in front of her. She didn't look menacing or threatening. She didn't look evil or sinister. But she shouldn't be here. _Couldn't_ be here. There was no logical explanation. There was no such thing as ghosts...

"The Doctor is here. And so is that lovely girl from the other universe, Savannah. You know she's pregnant?"

Sienna took in a shaky breath. "What do you mean the Doctor and Savannah are _here_? They aren't here. It's just you and me in this tiny dark room."

Theia's face grew sad. "No dear. I'm not here. Not really."

Sienna's eyes narrowed. "Uhh. Glad you agree with reality. Now would you care to explain how I'm talking to you? Is this a dream? Am I asleep?"

Theia reached out with the hand not holding the candle and gently caressed Sienna's cheek. "You aren't asleep sweetheart. You're dying."

And the candle extinguished itself this time.

* * *

There was so much blood, it was difficult to see the severity of the injuries, but it certainly didn't take a neurosurgeon to see the injuries were severe. Possibly even fatal.

The Doctor was absolutely beside himself. He couldn't deal with the issue of the current temporal crisis because once he reached Sienna and saw the state she was in, nothing else at all mattered.

So here they were, outside of time, in the bottom of a crater left by a Population 0 star. Sienna lay there unmoving. Unconscious.

She had the pallor of a ghost, her breathing was shallow, she was bradycardic and diaphoretic. All possible symptoms of neurogenic shock. She was unresponsive to painful stimuli though she did seem to be mumbling occasionally.

At first it seemed to be a bunch of nonsense, but then her eyes sprang open.

"How'd I get here?"

He nearly died and regenerated with relief, at first thinking Sienna was speaking to him.

"Sienna." he said gently, leaning over her and gripping tightly to her blood stained hand. "Never mind that now."

" _Where is the Doctor_?" she insisted, sounding very concerned.

The Doctor felt something cold roll up his spine when he realized she was staring at him unseeingly. Having a conversation with someone who wasn't here. Her eyes fell closed again.

"Doctor!?"

He nearly died and regenerated from a heart attack when Savannah's voice called down into the pit from above.

"Savannah. Are you alright?" he called.

"Um. Yeah I think so." she sounded uncertain and very frightened. "Something funny happened though. That storm... it was..." She didn't finish her thought but she didn't really need to.

"Yes. I'm rather afraid it was." he replied dryly.

There was a moment of silence, followed by "How's Sienna?"

He sighed and squeezed the dying young woman's hand. "Not well." he said softly, doubting very much that Savannah could even hear him.

"Well. I'm coming down. I know you're a Doctor and all, but I might be able to help. I've taken a lot of first aid classes and shit."

"Savannah... you probably shouldn't do that." the Doctor said, raising his voice once more.

She ignored him and began to descend the rope he'd tied to a nearby tree. "And why the hell not?" she asked, grunting as she climbed down. "It seems like whatever was supposed to happen, happened already. And this rope you found- that they obviously left for you to find- seems sturdy enough for us to climb back up."

The Doctor had neither the energy or the inclination to argue.

Before long she was there at the bottom, in the dimness looking down at Sienna and himself. Savannah seemed to hesitate before kneeling down to take a look.

The Doctor could hear her suck in a breath. Yes. It truly didn't look good.

"And she can't..." Savannah cleared her throat nervously. "She can't like, heal herself?" she wondered.

"She can't." The Doctor confirmed, smoothing a lock of brown hair back from Sienna's face and tucking it behind her ear. He remembered back to the time when Jesse had been badly injured by the temporal echo of the Tregannon in the woods. Sienna had healed Jesse and when she'd recovered, she'd confided in the Doctor.

" _So fucking ironic. I'm a complete mess. I'm the most broken person I know. But I can't heal myself._ "

She had, of course, at the time been referring to her drug addiction. The Doctor realized that she'd been wrong about that. Because she had healed herself. He brought her hand to his face and kissed it.

"Oh god." Savannah groaned. "She was coming to find me. This is all my fault."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I think today shall go down in the history books for the record breaking number of humans blaming themselves for things completely out of their control."

Savannah scoffed and reached over to take Sienna's other hand.

After a moment of silence, she breathed in disbelief. "Dude. It's like. _Me._ "

The Doctor couldn't help but reply with a small smile.

Sienna's eyes fluttered open once more.

"Whoa." Savannah exclaimed, eyes wide.

"It keeps happening." the Doctor murmured hopelessly. "She's talking to someone who isn't here."

"My Guardian Angel." Sienna whispered.

The Doctor felt both his hearts breaking. She remembered.

"Hey. What the hell..." Savannah was looking down at the hand she was holding, incredulous.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, honestly not even caring.

"Dude. She just _squeezed_ my hand."

The Doctor sighed. "Perhaps a muscle spasm."

Savannah was shaking her head. "No. She definitely squeezed my hand... and look. Look at her arm."

The Doctor glanced over at the arm in question, not actually expecting to see anything, yet...

His eyes narrowed. He could've sworn he saw her move her left arm.

He looked closely at the right hand that he held onto, and the right arm. No movement there.

Sienna suddenly took in a rattly breath and asked in a frightened voice, " _Who_ is here with me?"

The Doctor caressed her cheek. "I'm here with you Sienna." he told her, doubting very greatly she could hear anything.

"I'm right here with you too." Savannah whispered. "My name is Savannah. And you aren't alone."

Savannah gasped.

Yes. He had seen it too. Sienna's left shoulder had moved.

Before either of them could comment on it, Sienna spoke again.

"What do you mean the Doctor and Savannah are _here_? They aren't here. It's just you and me in this tiny dark room." Her brow furrowed. She looked distressed.

"What is happening?" Savannah demanded. "She can hear us. I'm sure of it. And why is only her left side moving. Do you think maybe she's paralyzed on one side?"

The Doctor was at a loss. "I'm not quite sure. The brain is a complex organ. Brain death can cause all sorts of..."

"Am I asleep?" Sienna asked.

Savannah suddenly shoved the Doctor slightly. "Let go." she instructed, indicating the right hand.

He looked at her, puzzled, but complied just the same. Savannah grabbed Sienna's right hand in hers.

The right arm immediately moved.

"Holy shit." Savannah exclaimed, looking like she'd seen a ghost. "Why is that happening only when I touch her?"

The Doctor blinked rapidly, his hearts hammering in his chest. "What made you think to do that?" he demanded.

"I-I-I don't know." Savannah stammered. "It just seemed like I should..." She looked up at the Doctor, her face faintly green, like she might be sick at any moment. "You know my great grandmother Theia was a healer." she said softly. "Ohila told me so..."

Before the Doctor could even respond, she dropped both Sienna's hands and brought her own trembling hands up toward the unconscious girl's head.

"I don't know why I'm doing this." she said shakily. "And I _really_ don't know what the fuck I'm doing."

She looked slightly squeamish at having to touch the injuries but she took a deep breath to steel herself.

Then closed her eyes.

"I remember in the dreams I had." she murmured. "I remember Sienna healing you. I remember Sienna healing that Jesse dude. She just kinda, breathed in the pain..." Savannah began to take a breath in.

And right before his eyes, he saw Sienna's injuries rapidly healing.

"The Sacred Flame." he murmured in awe. "Even outside of time, it's affecting you, giving you the powers of your bloodline..."

And as Sienna groaned and began to stir, the Doctor felt hope unfurling itself deep inside him.

Savannah began to cough violently and started to fall over. The Doctor grabbed for her quickly and laid her down on the ground as gently as he could. He checked her pulse and once he was sure that her airway was okay, he turned to check on Sienna.

She was sitting up, giving him a total go-directly-to-hell look.

" _Seriously_?" she spat. "Just decided to play Mister Big Shot and fly into a fucking black hole without even discussing it with me."

"Sienna." he breathed, as relief nearly drown him. "You're alright."

She wasn't near done yet though. "You just walk out on me and have Bow Tie Boy restrain me like a fucking prisoner while you fly off to play Kamikaze Space Jesus."

The Doctor was starting to laugh.

"And _then_ ," she shouted angrily, "he wipes my goddamn memory." She stood up and began pacing the small space. "You two apparently had a little Time Lord tete-a-tete and decided that the menfolk knew what was best for the dumb junkie girl. No biggie. Just steal the memories of all the amazing things that happened." She stopped pacing and looked down at him accusingly. "I'd like you to explain to me, where the _fuck_ they do that at?"

Now the Doctor was laughing so hard, he could hardly breathe. He was quite grateful for his respiratory bypass. She stood watching him in disbelief while he got himself under control and wiped tears out of his eyes.

Then he climbed to his feet, walked over to her and grabbed her in a tight hug.

She struggled. "I'm still fucking mad at you!" she assured him, her voice muffled by his chest.

He pulled back slightly and grabbed her face gently between his hands. "Well we can't have that." he remarked. "Just look what happened the last time I made you angry."

A slow grin spread across Sienna's face. "You know-it-all dickhead."

"You spoiled brat." he replied with a smirk. And then, he kissed her.

"Uh guys..."

The two separated guiltily to find Savannah sitting up looking groggy.

" _Dude._ " Sienna breathed. "It's like... _me._ "

Savannah leaned back against the wall of the pit with her arms crossed. "Don't mean to spoil the mood but, what exactly did you _mean_ by us being 'outside of time'?" she asked the Doctor with raised eyebrows.

"Hello! Are you all okay down there?"

The voice of the older Doctor calling down from above made them all look up.

The blonde Doctor sighed. "Yes. Well. It appears we aren't the only ones who ended up outside of time."

So much for being rescued.


	35. Chapter 35

**_"By the pricking of my thumbs,_**

 ** _something wicked this way comes."_**

 ** _-William Shakespeare (from Macbeth)_**

* * *

 _Karn, Out of Time_

"Are you sure you're feeling okay Savannah?" Sienna asked. They were all gathered in the console room. Once they'd climbed out of the pit, they'd headed directly for the safety of the older Doctor's TARDIS. Despite the fact that her only function at the moment was shelter. According to both Doctors, she was dead as a doornail.

Savannah sighed. "Yes. For the five hundredth time everyone: I'm _just fine_. Perfect. 100%" She was sitting next to her mother whose arms were wrapped around her tightly like she might never let go.

Truth be told, Savannah didn't exactly feel 100%. She still felt slightly woozy and shaky after healing Sienna. But mostly she was feeling anxious. She was crazy worried about Silas and felt responsible for his heroics. She still couldn't fucking believe she'd left that pendant in her room.

"Maybe he was meant to have found it." Dayle suggested gently. Savannah gave her mother an annoyed look. She'd had her fill of telepathy for a lifetime and here her mom was invading her mind.

The Doctors were both standing at the console, likely trying to figure out what the hell they were gonna do. Savannah leaned against her mom and closed her eyes. The Doctors' conversation drifted over to her.

"You mean to say there isn't any power, _at all_?" the blonde Doctor asked, sounding thoroughly exasperated.

"Not a bit." the old Doctor confirmed gravely. "The moment the time storm touched the TARDIS, it was like it deleted her entire matrix."

Five sighed, sounding defeated. "Have you any ideas? Anything at all?"

"At the moment? Our best chance is for Silas to find that other pendant."

 _Silas._ Savannah felt a stab in her heart at his name. She opened her eyes and sat up, to find Sienna standing over her looking concerned.

"Seriously. Maybe you should go lay down. You look _terrible."_ She studied Savannah closely. "I know it always screws me up for a while when I have to heal someone. And you're like, pregnant, so..."

Savannah made a sound of frustration. "I'm not sick. I'm not injured. I'm just fucking worried." She crossed her arms and fought back the tears burning the back of her eyes. "He's by himself." she said softly, shaking her head.

Sienna pressed her lips together. "Yeah. I know it." she whispered. She stood silently for a moment but finally gave up and headed to stand with the Doctors at the console.

Savannah saw the young Doctor place an arm around her waist and hug her. "Sienna why don't you go get cleaned up of all that blood and find some clothes. It will probably be a bit before we get any of this figured out."

Sienna shrugged. "Alright. I imagine it's not super comforting for everyone to be hanging out with a chick who looks like Carrie after the prom."

 _No joke._ Savannah thought to herself. Sienna's wounds may have healed but she was still covered in blood and it was slightly nausea inducing.

Sienna headed for the corridor.

"And Sienna..." the Doctor called after her.

Sienna stopped and turned, curious.

"Put on some shoes." he suggested.

Sienna rolled her eyes and headed off, giggling all the way down the hall.

"So... are either of you two geniuses going to explain exactly what's happened here?" Dayle wondered.

The young Doctor turned her way and seemed to be thinking of the best way to answer. The older Doctor still hadn't given up and was now knelt down beside the console, looking at some switches underneath.

Finally the Fifth Doctor sighed. "Something went wrong." he began. "Something that Maren had not intended. She meant to set a trap, likely involving that pendant. But something happened, the moment I climbed down into that pit to help Sienna. It created what's called a Time Storm."

"Yeah. You guys keep _saying_ that." Savannah pointed out, annoyed. "What the hell _is_ a time storm though?"

"It's a chronometerological event." Twelve answered from beneath the console. "A literal storm that produces random bursts of temporal energy."

"But how the hell did a _time storm_ start in that crater thing?" Dayle asked, climbing to her feet.

"And if the pendant _did_ cause it, what makes you so sure Maren didn't do it intentionally?" Savannah insisted. "Because, I assure you, that bitch crazy."

Twelve was now leaning on the console, looking thoughtful. "Because if she'd set a trap, intending to hurt the Doctor or to erase him from time, it would've been laser focused. The Pendant of Apeiron isn't typically used as the impetus for a widespread natural disaster."

"Right." the blonde Doctor agreed. "As it is, that time storm stands ready to take out everything in its path. All of Karn unless it is stopped. Maren has been far too calculating up until now. Too exact." He shook his head. "Something went wrong."

"So where does that leave us then?" Savannah asked. "We seem to be in the same location. Are we just backwards or forwards in time?"

"I'm rather afraid it isn't so simple." Five sighed.

"The Pendant of Apeiron is a device of eternity." Twelve explained. "And eternity exists, _outside_ of time."

"But how can anything possibly be outside of time?" Dayle asked incredulously.

"You see, time isn't a substance. It's isn't a thing." the blonde Doctor expounded. "It's a relation _between_ things. It's the changes that take place. The temporal sequence of events."

"And since eternity is beginningless and endless and timeless, it's as if everything just _is_ all at once." the older Doctor added.

"So what exactly is there without time then?" Savannah wondered.

Twelve shrugged. "Duration. Limitless duration."

"But that's complete and utter madness." Dayle whispered. "Who would want that?"

"The Master." both Doctors replied at once.

Savannah chuckled. "And apparently Apeiron as well."

"So, if Maren hadn't intended on causing this shit storm, what could have triggered it?" Dayle asked, pacing the control room.

"I saw with my own eyes." Savannah remarked. "That thing started the moment the Doctor climbed into that star crater with Sienna." She squinted remembering, then nodded. "The very second." she added, confident in her memory.

"Were you aware of anything strange when you entered the pit?" Twelve asked Five. "Aside from the storm, was there anything else that took place?"

The blonde Doctor scratched his head, his brow furrowed. "When I started to climb down, there was a moment when I linked with Sienna telepathically. You see, that connection was how I initially tracked her down. But when the Sisterhood placed her in the pit, the Matricite blocked my ability to see her mind. So when I entered the pit..."

Savannah gesticulated. "So could that telepathy have triggered the storm?"

Five raised his eyebrows. "Seems unlikely. I'm still not quite sure what sort of range that pendant has. Maren was nowhere around and it was nowhere in the pit with us." He shook his head, troubled. "It just doesn't make sense."

Sienna reentered the room just then. She had showered and was wearing jeans and a tshirt. She was fidgeting though and looked uncomfortable.

"Are you alright?" Five asked with evident concern.

"I don't know." she replied. "Just don't feel quite right still."

"Is she not healed all the way?" Savannah asked, afraid she'd done it wrong.

"No." Sienna told her. "It isn't anything like that. It's just..." Suddenly, she seemed to change her mind on whatever she had intended to say. "It's nothing."

"So what do we do?" Dayle broke in. "What can we do to fix this?"

Twelve sighed and walked over to Dayle. He took her hand and gazed at her apologetically.

"We wait." he said gently.

* * *

 _Karn, Normal Time_

Silas approached the crumpled body covered with a red robe reluctantly. He felt sickened at being in such close proximity to a corpse and a bit sad for the stranger who had helped Savannah, then lost her life.

He knelt down beside Ohica's still form but couldn't bring himself to touch her.

 _Her hand. Look in her hand._

That creepy voice again. Whispering to him from the pendant. It had told him to come find Ohica's body. That she somehow had something he needed.

"Who the hell _are_ you?" Silas asked the pendant. "For all I know, I shouldn't be listening to you at all. If you are Apeiron, from everything I've heard, you're a bit of a dick."

 _Look. Ohica's hand._

The voice itself was like a series of dissonant whispers. Nothing to identify it as male or female, young or old.

Silas chewed his lip thoughtfully. "No." he said after a moment. "Not until you tell me why I should."

 _Because you must help her. She is in great danger._

"Who? Who the hell am I supposed to be helping." Silas asked, his patience completely gone.

 _The girl from the woods._

Silas narrowed his eyes, looking down at the pendant in confusion.

 _Daughter of Earth._ The pendant clarified.

Silas thought of everything he knew about Apeiron, the great Time Lord. Why would he give a shit?

 _She is in danger. The Doctors have no idea. It will use her._

"Cryptic much?" Silas muttered, decidedly unimpressed.

 _Maren has no idea what she's done. Apeiron will finally get his revenge. My father will finally make good on his promise._

Silas felt his eyes widen. "Anteros?" he whispered. "How the hell...?"

 _Soul catching,_ the pendant hissed.

Silas felt a chill permeate his entire being. "I'm not entirely sure I want to know what that is." he murmured.

 _Seven regenerations. I had seven regenerations remaining. I captured them all in this pendant before I gave it to her. I wanted to be of help. And I was, at least in my universe._

Silas was speechless. After a moment, he took a deep breath to steel himself, then lifted one corner of the robe off of Ohica's corpse.

The amount of blood nearly made him toss his cookies everywhere. But he saw her hand there near her head. It was clenched as if it were holding something.

Silas pried the stiff, bloody fingers open with trembling hands.

And found some weird looking valve clutched there.

A piece of machinery?

 _A piece of a TARDIS,_ the voice corrected.

"Whoa." Silas breathed. He took the valve and stuck it in his pocket. He remembered back in the library the blonde Doctor had mentioned that his TARDIS had been disabled by the removal of some component. This must be it.

He stood and rubbed his hands on the back of his jeans, trying not to think about the dead lady cooties.

"So I suppose we find the TARDIS now?" Silas guessed, gazing in the direction of the woods. The storm had moved off in that direction. He wasn't eager to put himself in its path again, despite the fact that it had no effect on him.

 _Seek the Sisterhood. And you shall find the TARDIS._

Silas swallowed. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

He shook his head and trudged toward the woods. As he walked along he could hear that he was getting closer to the howling winds of the storm, as if he was walking right behind it.

The pendant remained silent but Silas found that hedidn't need to be given direction. He just followed the path toward the sound of the storm. When he was near the edge of the woods, he could see it and hear it roaring around the mouth of a large cave.

"You aren't suggesting I just walk on in to the cave of the Sisterhood." Silas muttered. "I mean, sounds pretty fucking stupid to me."

 _They are afraid. Rightfully so. They try to fight the storm with their Sacred Flame ritual._

Silas nodded, resigned to what he had to do. "Alright. Here I go. Just gonna walk into the cave of the Sisterhood of Karn. Awesome. Grand idea."

He headed out into the clearing and flinched as he entered the eye of the strange storm again, expecting to be pelted with precipitation. But once again, he felt nothing. He could see the strange colored tracers in the air, the visible currents of wind. The thick black oily clouds. But it was like they were merely a hologram to him.

Silas headed on in to the cave, bold as hell and grabbed a torch off the wall. There was nobody in sight but as he walked deeper into the cave, he heard chanting.

" _Sacred fire...sacred flame..."_

" _Sacred fire...sacred flame."_

He felt a shiver overtake him and he couldn't help but mutter, "By the pricking of my thumbs..."

He reached some sort of large room and saw all the creepy bitches in their red robes prostrating themselves around some type of dais, upon which sat the apparent queen bitch, Maren. They were all so wrapped up in their hocus pocus bullshit that they didn't notice Silas in the entryway watching.

Silas felt anger seize him. Like, real serious anger. These bitches had tried to kill his best friend, Sienna. _Had_ in fact killed a kind woman who had apparently saved Savannah's life.

Silas had never in his life wanted to physically harm a female before. Now there was an entire roomful of women who he would be happy to punch.

 _You don't have violence in your heart Son of Earth. You are angry, but you are also intelligent. Just wait._

Silas didn't want to listen to the voice of Anteros. Every instinct in his body told him to fight like hell. But he stood still with his jaw clenched, waiting. For what, he had no idea.

The wind howled louder as if it were trying to gain entrance into the cave. Would the storm stay on the outside? Were the Sisters even safe here?

 _Not for long._

"Human." a female voice growled suddenly.

Silas saw it was Maren, now standing on the dais, looking at him with brutal animosity in her ancient eyes. And something else.

Fear.

She was scared. She was scared of _him_.

He advanced toward her and found that the red robed women parted like the Red Sea at his approach. He stood at the dais, looking up at Maren.

"How?" she demanded, her eyes on the necklace he wore. "How do you have that pendant? How did you get it from _her_?" She was trembling.

Silas narrowed his eyes at her questions.

 _She thinks you have her pendant. But you couldn't. Because she placed her pendant upon Sienna's neck to trap the Doctor._

Silas didn't want to clear up the misunderstanding because her confusion and fear gave him the upper hand.

Instead, he stood up tall and looked her in the eye. "Tell me what you did and maybe I'll answer your questions."

"I-i-it was just meant for the Doctor." she stammered. "I programmed the pendant to remove the Doctor from time. I placed it on Sienna's broken body so he'd get close enough." A look of uncertainty was in her eyes. "But I don't understand what caused this storm. I don't understand how _you_ ended up with the pendant."

"What is this pendant that you speak of?" A red robed young woman asked, suddenly stepping toward them.

"Do not trouble yourself Elpida." Maren tried to sound forceful but Silas noticed a new kind of fear in her eyes. It was the look of someone who'd just gotten caught. It was clear that this pendant was not something she wanted everyone to know about.

It only seemed fair for him to spread the word.

"It's the Pendant of Apeiron." Silas explained loudly. "Anteros gave it to Maren before she came to Karn. She used it to erase Ohica's daughter from time. She used it to try to destroy the Doctor once before. And she caused this time storm with it as well."

He heard a collective gasp as the whole group of women pressed forward to get a better look at the pendant that Silas wore.

"Is this _true_ Maren?" one asked, clearly not in a friendly manner.

"Maren what have you done?" another asked, sounding horrified.

"Do not listen to this despicable Son of Earth." Maren spat desperately.

"Oh it's true." Silas assured them, looking into each of their eyes. "Your fearless leader is a coward. She's done all this because of some prophecy that said the Doctor would come to kill her some day. She'd sacrifice anyone else to keep herself safe. And you've all helped her. You even killed one of your own today." He made a sound of disgust and shook his head. "I think that's pretty fuckin sad."

He wasn't sure if he'd crossed the line, but saw that they all looked shocked and ashamed at his words rather than hostile towards him.

He sighed. "Listen. We can _still_ fix this. We can _still_ make this right. Just tell me what's happened to the TARDIS. If I can help the Doctors, they might be able to stop this storm from destroying all of you."

The young woman who had asked about the pendant, the one Maren had called Elpida stepped closer. She touched his arm and pointed to a corridor. "The TARDIS is there."

Then she turned to the rest of the women. "Sisters. Restrain Maren." Her voice was commanding and they all took notice.

Three of the Sisters immediately grabbed Maren who struggled futilely.

Elpida continued. "I hereby step up as next in line. As the High Priestess."

"Yes Reverend Mother." they all said in unison.

"Go Son of Earth." she told Silas. "If you know how to stop all this, go now."

Silas nodded and headed toward the door she'd indicated. At the door, he turned back. "What will you do to her?" he couldn't help but ask.

Elpida's expression was hard to read. "We shall keep an eye on her until everything is resolved."

Silas didn't exactly feel reassured by the answer but nodded anyway and headed for the TARDIS.

When he got to the tiny room where the TARDIS was parked, he stuck his torch into a mount on the wall and desperately hoped the damn thing wasn't locked.

He took a breath, crossed his fingers and pulled the door open.

The lights came on immediately when he entered and he felt a comforting hum greet him.

He looked all around as he pulled the valve out of his pocket. "So... uh... Old Girl... Where exactly does this part go?"


	36. Chapter 36

**_"There's this emperor, and he asks the shepherd's boy how many seconds in eternity. And the shepherd's boy says, 'There's this mountain of pure diamond. It takes an hour to climb it and an hour to go around it, and every hundred years a little bird comes and sharpens its beak on the diamond mountain. And when the entire mountain is chiseled away, the first second of eternity will have passed.' You may think that's a hell of a long time. Personally, I think that's a hell of a bird."_**

 ** _-Twelfth Doctor (from Heaven Sent)_**

* * *

 _Karn, Out of Time_

Sienna wasn't sure what was happening to her, but something was definitely off. Had been ever since she'd woken up in that star crater.

She felt kind of distant, detached. There was a vague buzzing sensation in her head and something felt warm in her chest.

She knew she'd had her head bashed in pretty good and since she'd never been on the receiving end of telepathic healing, for all she knew, this could be 'normal'. So she kept her mouth shut about it.

Savannah had just practically brought her back from the dead for fuck's sake. Not to mention the fact that Silas was in very serious danger. Sienna wasn't trying to bitch about feeling a little off.

Things really got strange though when she'd gone to take a shower, to get cleaned up of all that blood. That was when she'd heard the voice for the first time.

As she tried to ignore the unsettling feeling she had and just relax under the spray of the shower, a voice whispered.

 _There's no need to worry them. Haven't they all enough to worry about?_

Sienna paused in lathering up her hair and felt a chill down her spine.

"Uh... hello?" she called.

There was no response.

So strange. Had it not been for the very distinct auditory experience, Sienna might've thought it was simply her own thoughts echoing in her head. She had, after all, been thinking along the very same lines.

She sighed. "Alright Sienna. You're totally losing it."

She rinsed her hair and thought about the Doctor. Her Doctor. She wondered what the hell might happen between them if they ever came through this.

 _Oh one of you will come through this. But I wouldn't count on it being your Time Lord._

This time Sienna became so rattled, she actually reached outside the shower and grabbed her towel to cover herself.

She stepped out of the shower, leaving it running, wrapped in a soaked sea foam green bath sheet.

She looked all around the small bathroom. "Old Girl... is that you?" she addressed the TARDIS. The hum in response sounded uncertain.

She turned the shower off despite the fact she hadn't conditioned and grabbed another dry towel. She felt strange as she stood before the dressing mirror naked. Her eyes kept going to the large pair of scissors there. They looked sharp.

After that, she'd quickly gotten dressed and joined the others. Being alone didn't seem like the best idea at the moment. And she was hoping to hear that the Doctors had come up with some grand scheme to save the day.

As she walked into the console room, she felt that curious warmth in the center of her chest again. She must have frowned because the blond Doctor immediately asked, "Are you alright?"

Her head buzzed and she felt a bit unsteady. "I don't know." she admitted. "Just don't feel quite right still."

Savannah looked super worried and just a touch guilty. "Is she not healed all the way?"

Sienna didn't want Savannah to think she'd failed. "No." she rushed to assure her. "It isn't anything like that. It's just..."

It's just _what_? She had no way to answer that question that didn't make her sound slightly screwy.

She smiled and looked Savannah in the eyes. "It's nothing."

"So... did the shower help any?" the young Doctor was asking as he walked toward her. He had his cute half smile on and his eyes were studying her curiously.

It was funny, this dynamic they shared. In some ways she felt she'd known him forever and knew exactly what was in his hearts. Yet in other ways, she felt like she had a crush on a boy and she wasn't sure if he felt exactly the same. It was madness. And it was sort of wonderful.

Sienna nodded, her brown eyes sparkling. "The shower was good." she told him.

Which certainly didn't warrant the look he was now giving her. Like she'd grown three heads.

"Sienna..." he breathed, still staring in disbelief. "How...?"

"Doctor...?" Sienna inquired, her eyes narrowed. "Doctor, what the hell is wrong?"

He 'd stepped closer and came to take her hand. "Alright Sienna. Just calm down for a moment." he soothed. He was treating her like some fragile specimen. Was looking at her like an unstable mental patient. She didn't care for it one bit. She pulled away, her voice rising.

"Doctor, tell me what happened? Why are you looking at me like that?"

She realized that suddenly, everyone's eyes were on her. Dayle's, Savannah's and the older Doctor. Dayle and Savannah merely look perplexed.

Both Doctors looked positively bowled over.

"Why is she doing that?" Savannah asked. "Is it her brain? Is she still injured?"

"Doing _what_?" Sienna demanded, now getting thoroughly pissed. " _Hello_. I'm standing right here. Maybe don't talk about me like I'm not in the room."

The older Doctor was shaking his head and had also stepped closer. "Whatever is causing this has nothing to do with her injury."

"But she's just jabbering, talking nonsense." Dayle countered. "Could very well be expressive aphasia. Can occur in stroke victims and other head injuries."

Now Sienna could feel panic set in. Her Doctor had taken hold of her hand once more and he gave it a squeeze, then smoothed her damp hair back with his other hand.

"She isn't talking nonsense though." he murmured, looking troubled. "She's speaking Gallifreyan."

There was a collective gasp and Sienna felt something in her mind snap at his words. Something seemed to skew her perception and drown out all the talking in the room. Not that his words surprised her. No. When he said them, it was almost as if she'd been _expecting_ them.

Like, wasn't it obvious that she'd been speaking Gallifreyan all along?

 _You are a Daughter of Gallifrey after all._

The voice was back. But now she found she wasn't scared or confused by it.

It made sense, didn't it?

 _You never felt you fit in on Earth, did you dear? And the Sisterhood of Karn, your own blood didn't exactly welcome you with open arms._

It was true. She didn't. And they hadn't.

She could hear the Doctor's voice, faintly trying to break through. But he was miles away, behind sound-proof plexiglass, underwater.

"Sienna, I think maybe you should go lay down until we get this sorted out. You are in no condition to deal with what's happening here."

Sienna heard him but found she didn't much care.

 _Foolish Time Lord. Went against the very code of his people. Flaunted the laws of the Time Lords. And he will be sorry._

"Sorry." Sienna murmured out loud.

She was vaguely aware that the Doctor, her Doctor had scooped her up and was carrying her back into the bedroom.

When he laid her down on the bed, she hooked her arms around his neck. He really was _such_ a fine looking man. Perhaps he might like to spend a little quality time...

The Doctor did not object when she pulled him in for a kiss. And since he seemed to be on board with getting physical, Sienna saw no reason to stop there. She pulled him down on top of her, onto the bed. This too he went along with readily. Apparently, he felt she was in fine condition to deal with what was happening _here._

 _Selfish Time Lord. Will never stay in one place. Thinks he owns time. Thinks it's his job to fix the universe. And he will choose that over you again and again._

Sienna felt a stab of anger in her guts as she rolled over on top of him. She became even more aggressive and she felt his hands on her ass as she held his face between her hands none too gently and kissed him somewhat violently.

 _The Doctor was perfectly fine with leaving you behind. And he lied. He lied when he said he wanted you to travel with him. He was just saying that to make you feel better. The truth is, he doesn't wish to be tied down to anyone or anything._

One of Sienna's hands slid down to the front of her jeans, seemingly of their own accord. She was somewhat taken aback when suddenly she pulled those sharp scissors she'd seen on the dressing table from her jeans pocket. Weird. Now how had those gotten there?

The Doctor was getting more and more into the moment. He rolled back over so that he was on top of her. That was fine, she decided, as his hand slid down behind her knee and hiked her leg around his hip. She could stab him from a lot of different angles.

 _You can't simply stab him of course. You must stab him until he has no regenerations left. He must not be allowed to live. He is a traitor and he will die along with all the rest._

Sienna could feel how excited he was and despite her intentions to murder him, she found herself also growing quite aroused. Her hand holding the scissors hesitated. Maybe she could...

Suddenly all around them was a bizarre shuddering, along with a sort of blurring of their physical surroundings.

The Doctor sat up quickly to see what was happening.

And then the familiar sound of a TARDIS materializing filled the space.

 _That can't be right. That can't be happening. It simply isn't possible for a TARDIS to materialize outside of time and still be functioning._

The voice sounded incredulous and angry.

Sienna sat up blinking, still clutching the scissors by her side, and feeling majorly disoriented.

The TARDIS. His TARDIS. The one she'd been stuck onboard for days as the Master's prisoner. The one that had helped her time and time again. Sienna could _feel_ her presence suddenly. Could feel her inside her mind. Like she was trying to force out the other presence there.

"It would seem we are being rescued after all." the Doctor said, sounding amazed.

"Rescued." she murmured, blinking in confusion.

He was watching her. "You're speaking English again." he remarked. Then his eyes seemed to zero in on the scissors in her hand. "Sienna?" he whispered, squinting at her. He reached his hand out slowly, looking unsure of what she might do.

Sienna wordlessly handed over the scissors, feeling numb and lost. The voice had left her, at least for the moment. And for the life of her, she couldn't recall whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The Doctor studied her for a moment longer, then stood and backed away from the bed.

"You just rest. I'm going to the control room to see what's happening." He looked down at the scissors, now in his hand, thoroughly troubled.

* * *

There was no doubt that something was very wrong with Sienna. And once they'd returned to normal time, they would deal with it.

For the time being, she needed to rest and he needed to see what was happening with the other TARDIS. His TARDIS. He could feel her presence in his mind and he was greatly comforted by that fact, despite all else that was going on.

When he reached the console room, he found Savannah and Silas hugging each other tightly. The other Doctor was at the console, his face hopeful once more. It was obvious that the controls were working again.

The Fifth Doctor blinked and headed for the console. All he could get out was "How?"

Twelve grinned in his devilish way. "That brilliant human over there just managed to materialize your TARDIS around mine."

The blonde Doctor narrowed his eyes, realizing for the first time that the control panel before him was actually something of a hodge podge of his own TARDIS console and the console belonging to the other Doctor.

"That's remarkable." the young Doctor breathed. "But how is she maintaining power here?"

Twelve tapped a section of console up near the rotor and for the first time Five noticed the ouroboros pendant laying on the connection port to the telepathic circuits.

"The Pendant of Apeiron. Of course." But then he turned and looked at Silas, confused. "But how did you know to do this? _How_ did you do this?"

Silas shrugged, one arm holding Savannah to his side possessively. "The Pendant. It told me just what to do. It's like, haunted kinda. By the spirit of Anteros."

"Haunted?" Dayle snorted. "That's not actually a thing." She crossed her arms and regarded Silas with skepticism.

"Soul catching." the Fifth Doctor murmured.

"Yeah! That's what the Pendant said." Silas confirmed, excitedly. "It said Anteros somehow captured his remaining regenerations inside the Pendant before he gave it to Maren."

"It's a perfectly scientific process." Twelve explained to Dayle who was clearly uncomfortable with all the talk of souls and haunting. Dayle seemed to be one of the few humans who didn't wish to explain the misunderstood with supernatural phenomenon. It was actually quite refreshing.

"So where the hell is Sienna?" Silas asked, suddenly panicked. "Is she alright? Did you rescue her?"

Savannah made a face. "Well, we rescued her and she seems physically okay..." Her eyes darted uncertainly to Five.

He sighed. "She's not acting herself." He explained to a thoroughly befuddled Silas. "She's laying down now."

Silas looked concerned. "Do you think it has anything to do with the other Pendant?" he wondered. Then made a sound of disgust. "Did you destroy the damn thing so we can get the fuck out of here already?"

The Fifth Doctor exchanged a perplexed look with the Twelfth Doctor.

"We haven't got the other Pendant." The Twelfth Doctor corrected. "Why would you think we did."

Silas finally took his arm from around Savannah and stepped up onto the control platform, looking uncertain. "But... Anteros said..." He seemed to be trying to remember something.

Five was growing more and more anxious. It was like he was standing near the man holding the starter pistol at a race. He just knew it was about to go off and he was bracing himself for the report.

"Anteros said Maren placed the Pendant on Sienna to draw you in." Silas indicated the blonde Doctor. "To erase you from time. But that somehow something went wrong and instead it created that time storm thing."

Five was shaking his head. "No. Sienna doesn't have the Pendant. She wasn't wearing it." Even as he said it though, his uncertainty of the fact grew.

Twelve took a step toward him. "Wasn't she?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"No way." Savannah argued, sounding confident. "I was right next to her, even touching her in the pit and I never saw..." She trailed off and her eyes narrowed, suddenly unsure. "But there _was_ something now that I think about it." Her eyes went to the Fifth Doctor. "How is that _possible_? How could we not notice..."

"A perception filter." Five whispered. "She's had the Pendant on this whole time."

He turned and ran back toward the corridor. As he rounded the corner, he heard the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing, the engines shuddering, then righting themselves. The older Doctor must've figured it best to deal with things back in normal time. He couldn't help but agree. Outside of time, it felt like one of his most important senses was missing.

When he reached the door to the bedroom, he found Sienna standing there in the doorway. Her lovely brown eyes looked dead, her face devoid of expression.

"Sienna?" he asked cautiously, his eyes fighting to focus on the necklace she didn't seem to be, but maybe she was, yes she definitely was, wearing. He gasped.

The Pendant. What was it doing to her?

"Tell me how you've made the TARDIS work again." Sienna spat in a strange voice. She was advancing toward him with such menace in her eyes that he actually backed up a few steps.

The Doctor thought it best not to share too much information since he had no idea who or what was currently residing in Sienna's mind.

Instead he grinned his congenial grin. "A lot of boring scientific stuff. Wouldn't want to bore you."

" _Doctor_." The voice- most definitely not belonging to Sienna- growled. She continued to advance on him. "This isn't possible. The time storm destroyed the TARDIS matrix. I made sure of that."

The Doctor backed up until he hit the wall of the corridor. Sure, Sienna was no more than five foot, four inches. But something else was there behind her eyes. Something powerful.

"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded coldly, done beating around the bush.

Sienna smirked. "I am Eternity. I am Infinite."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Apeiron I presume?"

"I'm not interested in chatting. I want to know what you've done to my time storm. To my reality." Sienna was now standing toe to toe with the Doctor, looking up at him hatefully.

"I assure you, your time storm is right where you left it." the Doctor commented dryly.

It was then that Dayle, Savannah, Silas and the other Doctor came rushing toward them down the corridor.

"Get the Pendant off of her!" the other Doctor shouted.

Five reached out and grabbed for the ouroboros pendant and Sienna's hand grabbed his wrist. Her grip was inhumanly strong.

A cruel smile graced her features and she whispered so that only he could hear, "Ten minutes ago."

There was a white flash and suddenly he saw they were standing outside near Moira Swamp, no TARDIS in sight.

"How... how did we get here." he asked, blinking in confusion. "Teleportation?"

Sienna chuckled and leaned against a tree, about ten feet away from him now. "We have not moved in space." she hinted.

The Doctor remembered what she'd said. _Ten minutes ago._

"You've taken us back in time. To before the TARDIS arrived." He could feel with his sense of time that he was correct. "And what's your next trick, hmm?" He sounded decidedly unimpressed.

Sienna tilted her head to one side and pointed past him. The Doctor turned his head to that direction and saw the time storm still raging off in the distance.

"So what's your plan? You'll just wipe everyone out? Take them outside of time?" He was slowly making his way toward her while he spoke. He was determined to get that Pendant off of her neck.

"More than that." Sienna assured him, something wicked lighting up her eyes. "Don't you see what we've created? It's almost too perfect."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes but didn't stop edging toward her. "Enlighten me." he suggested without much enthusiasm.

"I was going to simply kill you. Punish you for being such a disgrace to the Time Lords. But it finally occurred to me what happened. When your mind touched Sienna's mind telepathically, it created a conduit for Eternity." Sienna began to pace, agitated.

"Interesting." the Doctor murmured. "So that's where the time storm came from then? A malfunction of the Pendant when a Time Lord made telepathic contact with another Time Lord -or Lady-wearing it."

Sienna shook her head, facing him once more. "I wouldn't call it a malfunction. More of a...hidden feature."

The Doctor closed the distance between them and before she could react, he tore the Pendant from Sienna's neck.

Sienna staggered backwards, and shook her head. "What the fuck?" she groaned.

The Doctor stared down at the Pendant in his hand, glowing a strange amber. It was beginning to burn his hand.

Much to his dismay, he found he couldn't drop it. Couldn't put it down. It had already started to take control.

He could feel Apeiron begin to take hold. Just from holding it in his hand.

"It will drive you mad too." a sad, broken voice informed him.

He looked up to see Maren standing beside the swamp, watching.

The Doctor's head was swimming and he was fighting a losing mental battle with the Pendant. It really was trying to take him over.

"Oh my god! Doctor, what's wrong?" Sienna was right beside him, clinging to his arm. "What's happening?"

Everything around the Doctor was starting to become less real to him. He felt detached. Yet very present.

"The Pendant of Apeiron is attaching itself to him. As it did to me all those centuries ago." Maren's voice sounded tired and helpless. "Anteros couldn't have known what it would do to me."

It was like space and time were warping all around him. It was terrible. Yet thrilling.

"It's doing something to him!" Sienna screamed. "Can't you fucking help him?"

Maren sighed just as the Doctor began to hear the voice for the first time. Whispering.

 _Kill the High Priestess._

* * *

 ** _Just one chapter left folks. Expect it up in the next couple days. I hate that I'm dragging it out like this. I've had mad chaos at home and at work this last couple weeks. Thanks for sticking with me. -Ruinous79_**


	37. Chapter 37

**_Sorry about the little unplanned extended break. A ton has happened over the past couple weeks but I hope I closed things out for my characters satisfactorily. -Ruinous79_**

* * *

 ** _"Love is space and time_**

 ** _measured by the heart."_**

 ** _-Marcel Proust_**

* * *

 _Fifth/Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS_

They had just disappeared right before Savannah's eyes. One minute the young Doctor was trying to get that damn pendant off of Sienna and the next minute, the two of them just weren't there anymore.

The older Doctor, Savannah, Silas and Dayle all stood blinking in surprise in the corridor.

Leave it to Silas to say what they were all thinking.

"What the fuck?" He took a step forward, as if that might make them rematerialize.

"Where the hell did they go?" Savannah's mother asked, sounding alarmed.

"I'm not sure." the Doctor admitted, intrigued.

Savannah finally spoke up. "Guys, I swear I heard her say something about 'ten minutes' just before they Zayned the fuck out."

Silas cut his eyes to her. "Seriously. A One Direction reference?"

She shrugged. "It's been a tough day."

"Ten minutes." the Doctor repeated softly, then turned and headed back toward the control room.

The rest of them were right behind.

As they entered the console room from the corridor, the Doctor replied, "That pendant should not have transmat capabilities. It should not be able to relocate a person in space." He headed straight past the console to the door leading outside. "In _time_ however..."

Savannah hung back, feeling inexplicably drawn toward the console.

The TARDIS doors swung open and the older Doctor and Dayle stepped outside. Silas was right behind them.

Savannah heard her mother gasp.

"Oh shit..." Silas was saying.

But they sounded very far away.

Savannah's eyes were transfixed to an object sitting near the time rotor.

And she felt strange. Unreal.

"A lot can happen in ten minutes." she heard the older Doctor grumble, but it was like a voice coming from down a long tunnel.

Savannah was remembering. That last night in her universe...

In her mind's eye she saw Ohila standing in the corridors. They had bumped into one another when Savannah had gone after Silas after saying those horrible things to him.

Ohila had suddenly taken a step toward her and grabbed her hand.

"That is why I must give something to you and you must tell no one."

Savannah's heart was thumping in her chest as she stepped now toward the console, keenly aware that the pendant seemed to be glowing a soft amber. Ohila's words were still echoing in her ears.

"This pendant belongs to you. It is your birthright and only you will know what to do when the time comes."

Savannah's hand closed around it. But it may as well have been someone else's hand lifting it from the console. Someone else's hands placing the chain around her own neck.

The moment the pendant fell into its proper place against her chest, she felt a peculiar buzzing in her brain and heard a strange series of whispering voices.

 _Remember this, Daughter of Earth: you can help, but you cannot change the prophecy._

"Hey! Vannah! What the hell are you doing?"

It was Silas, and he sounded thoroughly freaked out.

She snapped out of her trance (or whatever it was) and turned to face him.

"I'm coming." she replied in a noticeably odd voice and headed toward him.

"I've been saying your name for a solid minute." he told her as they reached the door together. "Something fucked up is happening. Looks like the blonde Doctor is being affected by that pendant now."

They stepped outside and Savannah noticed that her mom and the older Doctor were already headed toward the others. She immediately recognized the area as the spot near the swamp where the Master had paralyzed her and her mother.

 _But it is never about where... it is about when._

She sighed. Wonderful. Apparently the pendant was haunted by fucking Yoda.

"You're gonna have to give me a little more than that." she murmured as they walked down toward the swamp where the action seemed to be taking place.

Silas stopped walking and threw her a puzzled look. "Say what?" But then his eyes seemed to fix on the pendant she was wearing before traveling up to her face. Now he got it.

"Good. At least _you'll_ be protected." he sounded seriously relieved.

They continued down the slight decline and as they drew closer, Savannah finally got a better idea of what was happening.

"Doctor this _isn't_ you. Please just hear me. You don't really want to kill anyone." Sienna's tearful voice rang out against the silent swamp as she pleaded with the Time Lord who appeared to be pursuing a familiar red robed figure.

Savannah's heart caught in her throat. Maren.

The young Doctor was advancing on the older woman who was backing away from him into the swamp. The bottom of her red robe was already trailing in the vile looking water.

"No one is killing _anyone_ today." the Scottish Doctor declared gruffly. He walked directly into the young Doctor's path and aimed his sonic screwdriver at the pendant dangling from his hand.

The young Doctor in turn raised the pendant in his counterpart's direction and hissed a single word, "Never."

And just like that, the older Doctor blinked out of time.

Savannah gasped in horror, understanding immediately what had happened. "No!" she shouted and ran down to join her mother who was sure to be devastated.

But Dayle was only standing there, a strange expression on her beautiful face. She didn't look horrified. She just looked kind of confused.

"Vannah." she said anxiously. "We just need to stay back."

"Oh mom." Savannah whispered. "I'm so sorry." She grasped her mother's hand who was looking at her, clearly puzzled.

"Sorry about what?" Dayle asked, shaking her head.

Oh shit.

Savannah looked down at the pendant she was wearing with the growing awareness that she might be the only one who remembered the grouchy but kindhearted Time Lord now.

She was suddenly aware that the remaining Doctor seemed to be talking in that same strange language that Sienna had used earlier. Gallifreyan.

Whatever he was saying to Maren, it certainly wasn't cordial small talk.

The High Priestess didn't look commanding or in control. She didn't look threatening or evil. She didn't even really look afraid even as she was being backed into the swamp by someone who wished to murder her. She just looked tired. Even a little sad.

She appeared to reply to the Doctor's strange words in the same language. The water was nearly to her waist now and still the Doctor advanced on her slowly.

"Why the hell is Gallifreyan the _one_ fucking language the TARDIS can't translate?" she muttered under her breath.

Silas was standing halfway between Savannah and the three individuals at the water's edge. He seemed at a loss for what to do.

Sienna was still trying her best to get the Doctor's attention.

"Doctor please. You'll never forgive yourself." Sienna's tone was positively heartbreaking. Savannah understood in that moment that for her it wasn't about saving someone's life. For Sienna, it was about protecting the Doctor's true nature. To stop him doing something that couldn't be undone. That he would never be able to live with.

But Savannah recalled what the pendant had said about the prophecy. Maybe all this was just supposed to play out. She didn't see what good she herself could do anyway. She didn't have that fucking power of Pythia. She couldn't use the pendant from her universe as a weapon of any kind.

 _But you can. Her dreams became yours. Her powers are yours as well. For as long as you cradle her within you._

Savannah felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest at this revelation. Her unborn child. She _could_ use the pendant because in a way she _did_ have the power of Pythia within her.

"You think you might've led with that Yoda?" she breathed.

Savannah closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She waited for an epiphany. For the solution to just come to her. Ohila had said she'd _know_ what to do.

But she didn't fuckin know _anything_.

She made a sound of frustration and her eyes sprang open once more. Stupid alien artifact.

"Doctor look at her!" Sienna was now standing in the swamp right beside the Doctor, gesturing to the red robed woman. "She isn't evil. Not really. She's just been controlled by that fucking pendant all these years. You can't hurt her. You have to _fight_ this."

Hearing those words finally sparked something in Savannah.

Maren wasn't evil? She blinked as she tried to assimilate this new information into everything else she knew. That cryptic voice hissed in her ear once more.

 _The line between good and evil is never absolute. We all have the capacity to be anything. Pain does funny things to our hearts._

Savannah's eyes narrowed as she noticed that Maren was looking directly at her now. Without even thinking about it, Savannah's hand reached for the pendant that rested against her chest. It glowed that soft amber color once more.

And suddenly it was as if time slowed down.

No. Not _as if._

Time actually, literally slowed down. For everyone except Maren and herself it seemed.

And all at once, Maren's mind reached out and touched hers. It was like she was standing right next to her, chatting her up.

"You aren't of this universe child. But one that is parallel to my own." Maren's voice said inside her head. She wasn't asking a question. She was stating a fact. So Savannah didn't know how to answer.

Maren continued. "Tell me. Am I such a monster in your universe?"

Savannah swallowed. She was thrown by the question. But then she set her jaw resolutely. "No. Not quite. You had a heart. Even after running Theia off from Karn, part of you still cared."

" _Had_ a heart?" Maren prompted, sounding curious rather than troubled.

"You died a long time ago. In fact, in my universe, you gave your life to save the Doctor."

The tired voice resounding in Savannah's head sounded full of wonder at this revelation.

"I _saved_ the Doctor?"

 _And she can still save the Doctor._

The voice of the pendant had no sooner spoken when normal time resumed.

"For Christ's sake! Someone has to put a stop to this shit!" Silas suddenly shouted and closed the distance between himself and the Doctor.

Savannah's heart lurched. "Silas don't!" She started after him, realizing he had no recollection of what had happened moments before to the older Doctor.

She was too fucking late.

The Doctor turned just as Silas reached him and once more spoke the single word: "Never."

And Silas was gone.

She fell to her knees, shaking all over.

 _No. No way. He couldn't be gone._

"Goddammit!" she sobbed.

The abrupt loss of the young brave man maimed her very soul. The pain actually took her breath away.

Dayle was by her side in an instant. "Vannah baby. Are you alright?" Dayle had that puzzled look on her face again. Because of course she had no idea what had just happened. Nobody did but Savannah herself. She stared up at her mother dumbly as tears coursed down her face.

Just then she heard Sienna's scream. " _No!_ "

Savannah looked up and saw that the Doctor had finally reached his quarry and his hands had wrapped around Maren's throat. The old woman had stopped backing away as if she was accepting her fate.

"Oh shit. If only we'd gotten here a little sooner." Dayle uttered, looking thoroughly distressed at the unfolding events.

Her mother's words managed to penetrate the overwhelming grief that had descended upon her.

"A little sooner." Savannah whispered. She remembered the cryptic words of the pendant.

 _But it is never about where... it is about when._

Savannah took a deep breath and looked down at the ouroboros necklace.

She folded one of her shaking hands around it and closed her eyes. "Twenty minutes ago." She murmured and she could feel a warmth rapidly radiating through her body and a dizziness in her head as the pendant zapped her back through time.

Savannah opened her eyes to see she was now standing alone near the bank of the swamp. She shook her head to clear the fuzziness from her mind- likely a side effect of the time jump. Then she turned all around her, her eyes searching frantically for her only hope.

"The storm's coming." The voice, sounding so very old, was coming from behind her.

Savannah whirled around to see Maren approaching from up the hill.

"Help." Savannah blurted, taking three steps toward her. "Please... you have to help."

Maren regarded her with hopeless eyes sunk into her ancient features. "They've all gone." She spoke as if Savannah hadn't already. "The Time Storm has taken the entire Sisterhood. I don't understand why it spared me." She looked so very sad. "What have I done?" she asked Savannah earnestly.

"Maren, you need to listen to me." Savannah pleaded breathlessly. "I know how you can make things right."

"That pendant." Maren exclaimed, pointing to the necklace with a shaky finger. "Where did you get that? You aren't Sienna."

"God _dammit_ you creepy old bitch. _Listen to me_!" And finally, she had Maren's attention. The old woman looked like she'd been slapped. Savannah adjusted the hostility in her tone. "This isn't your pendant. It's the pendant from _my_ universe. And in _my_ universe, you set things right. You saved the Doctor's life. You gave your life for him." She studied the High Priestess, gauging her reaction.

Maren looked intrigued. "Go on." she encouraged.

Savannah drew in a breath and continued with her pitch. "You have this one chance to set things right in this universe. And no, it will never make up for the terrible things you did." Savannah found that even in trying to convince Maren to do the right thing, she couldn't sugar coat things. "But if you do this... I promise you, the Doctors _can_ save the Sisterhood."

The old woman sighed wearily. "And just what would you have me do?" She didn't exactly look sold.

That was just it. Savannah didn't know _exactly_ what to tell her to do. She just knew with all her heart that Maren was the key to setting things straight.

"I don't know." She told her honestly. Her voice became urgent once more, "I just know that in less than twenty minutes in the future, the Doctor from this universe will have been taken over by Apeiron's Pendant and things go _very_ badly for me and my friends."

She thought of Silas and something icy squeezed her heart. Savannah had to close her eyes until the stab of pain passed.

When she opened them she was surprised to discover Maren peering at her. With compassion.

"The Son of Earth. Silas." Maren said softly. "He is the love of your life. The first to treat you as though you were more than ordinary."

Savannah sucked in a breath at the certainty in Maren's voice. And began to cry. She nodded, realizing only in that moment that it was the truth.

Maren seemed to be staring off into space. "Pain." she whispered. "It does funny things to our hearts."

Savannah was dimly aware that she'd heard those very words spoken before.

"Go." Maren told her suddenly, breaking into her reverie. Savannah squinted at the woman in confusion. Go _where_? She wondered.

"Go _back_." Maren said, her mind clearly made up. She took Savannah's hand and placed it on the pendant, which immediately began to glow warmly.

Savannah felt dizzy all of a sudden. Something already seemed to be happening but she was not entirely sure what she was supposed to do. "But..." she began. "Do I go forward twenty minutes in time? What..."

"The Pendant of Apeiron exists in eternity." Maren assured her, a strange smile on her wrinkled mouth. "It will know just _when_ to take you."

Savannah felt that warmth pervade her whole being again...

They had just disappeared right before Savannah's eyes. One minute the young Doctor was trying to get that damn pendant off of Sienna and the next minute, the two of them just weren't there anymore.

The older Doctor, Savannah, Silas and Dayle all stood blinking in surprise in the corridor.

Leave it to Silas to say what they were all thinking.

"What the fuck?" He took a step forward, as if that might make them rematerialize.

"Where the hell did they go?" Savannah's mother asked, sounding alarmed.

"I'm not sure." the Doctor admitted, intrigued.

Savannah finally spoke up. "Guys, I swear I heard her say something about 'ten minutes' just before they Zayned the fuck out."

Silas cut his eyes to her. "Seriously. A One Direction reference?"

She shrugged. "It's been a tough day."

"Ten minutes." the Doctor repeated softly, then turned and headed back toward the control room.

The rest of them were right behind.

"So... do you have some kinda theory here Time Lord?" Dayle encouraged.

As they entered the console room from the corridor, the Doctor replied, "That pendant should not have transmat capabilities. It should not be able to relocate a person in space." He headed straight past the console to the door leading outside. "In _time_ however..."

Savannah stopped beside the console and shook her head as if to clear it. She had the strangest sense of deja vu...

"Hey. You alright?" Silas had stopped and was looking at her with concern.

"Yeah." Savannah replied absently. "Let's go."

They all exited the TARDIS and she immediately recognized the area as the spot near the swamp where the Master had paralyzed her and her mother.

As they walked around the side of the TARDIS toward the swamp, Sienna and the blonde Doctor came into view.

They were standing on the bank hand in hand, looking down at a red robe crumpled on the ground.

"Oh shit." Silas murmured as they all quickened their pace.

"What's happened here?" the older Doctor demanded, peering down at what turned out to be nothing more than a robe without an occupant.

Sienna was shaking her head, looking confused. "I'm not sure."

"She sacrificed herself." the young Doctor breathed in amazement, still not taking his eyes off the garment laying at his feet. "Sienna was taken over by the pendant and I finally wrenched it away from her. I felt it... begin to attach itself to _me._ I couldn't put it down." He looked deeply troubled at the prospect of losing control like that.

" _Who_?" Dayle asked in confusion. "Who sacrificed herself?"

"It was Maren." the words came from Savannah but she wasn't entirely sure how she knew. Silas gave her an odd look but Sienna and the Doctor were both nodding in agreement.

"It _was_ Maren. She was just _here_ suddenly." The Doctor continued. "She took the pendant from my hand, stepped away from us and then..."

"Atomized herself?" the older Doctor guessed. He had been kneeling on the ground to study the robe and he'd found a square device there in the mud. He held it up for the rest of them to examine.

"Precisely." the blonde Doctor whispered.

"Thus fulfilling the prophecy." the older Doctor remarked, his considerable brow furrowed.

"So I take it you two are alright then?" Dayle asked, looking them over for injury.

"Yeah. We're totally fine." Sienna answered, sounding surprised herself.

"The strangest thing though, that device belonged to the Master." The blonde Doctor murmured. "I saw him use it on my TARDIS to atomize the Zygon Arc."

"So how the hell did _she_ come by it?" Silas wondered.

"I suppose the Master must've dropped it when he carried Savannah off." The older Doctor suggested, looking even more dumbfounded now.

"What are the odds...?" the younger Doctor pondered, studying the square device that his counterpart had handed to him.

Savannah, Silas, Sienna and Dayle all had the same one word explanation and they all spoke it in unison then.

"Fate."

And for once, neither of the Doctors argued.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

 _Universe A_

Savannah lay snuggled up on the couch with her little sister watching old episodes of Adventure Time. She and her mother had been dropped off by the grumpy old Doctor the night before. Savannah might've been convinced that everything that had transpired was just some fucked up fever dream- if it wasn't for how heartbroken she felt by leaving Silas back in his own universe.

They had said their goodbyes on Karn and he had boarded the younger Doctor's TARDIS with Sienna. It had all happened so fast. A quick hug and a peck on the cheek.

Like acquaintances. Like it had all meant nothing.

There had been so much left unsaid. And Savannah felt a ton of regret about that.

Dayle had held her hand all the way back home. Savannah hadn't outwardly displayed her pain but her mother was, after all, telepathic. And probably the one person in the universe who knew exactly how she felt.

Ember also seemed to sense her sister's sadness and had been trying everything to cheer her up. Trying to make her laugh and giving her lots of hugs and cuddles. Savannah gazed lovingly at the sleepy little girl and tried to fight the tears that were burning her eyes. She knew she was lucky to have her family. And even a new little chick on the way.

Ember had been ecstatic when told she was to be an aunt. She had also steadily been making Savannah laugh with absurd baby name suggestions.

So far there had been Pinkie Pie, Geranium, Carla Menarla, Sandy Cheeks and the latest was Mrs. Magoo. Savannah chuckled and kissed her now sleeping little sister's forehead.

She heard the screen door open and sat up a bit, puzzled. Her mom wasn't due home from work for several hours and it was far too late for visitors.

There was a tapping on the door.

She carefully extracted herself from Ember and got up from the couch, headed for the door curiously. She peeked out the window and made a sound of derision.

It was Lancelot.

He had texted her earlier today. She hadn't replied but that apparently hadn't deterred him. He wanted to talk he'd said, to make sure he wasn't going crazy.

"Sure thing." she muttered, considering not answering the door at all. "What else am I here for but to reassure you of your grasp on reality?"

She sighed and unlocked the chain and deadbolt. She swung the door open and tilted her head impatiently. "Dude. It's a bit late."

"Damn Vannah. I got here as quickly as I could." he smirked and gestured behind him. "Trust me. It would have taken a hell of a lot longer if I'd driven."

Savannah blinked, thrown by his words. What the hell was he talking about?

She looked out to her driveway toward where he'd gestured, expecting to see his dark pickup truck.

She very nearly lost her ability to stand upright when she spotted the familiar shape of the blue police box.

She looked back at Silas, realization dawning slowly.

"Wait... it's _you_?" she asked dumbly.

Silas sighed and rolled his eyes. "So are you gonna let me in or what?"

Savannah backed up wordlessly so he could enter the living room.

 _Was this actually happening?_

They stood facing each other in the entrance to the living room.

Finally Savannah found her voice. "Why did you come back? How long are you staying?"

He stepped toward her, that cute smartass grin on his face. "Well, to answer your first question, I came back because I left my stocking cap in Ember's room. And seriously, it's like my _favorite_ hat." His arms encircled her.

She giggled and shook her head. "And to my second question?" she prompted.

He hauled her body in quite close to him and leaned in so his lips were near her ear. "For eternity." he told her.

She felt tears sting her eyes as he pulled back and gently kissed her on the mouth.

And that was the moment. The moment that Savannah Moss, part High Priestess, part Time Lady, fell in love with a Son of Earth.

* * *

"Shall I?" Sienna asked gesturing toward the dematerialization lever eagerly.

They had just said goodbye to Silas and the TARDIS sat in the Moss driveway, ready for another adventure.

The Doctor leaned against the console and regarded her with amusement. "If you think you can manage to get us back to our universe without punching another hole in the fabric of time and space, by all means."

Sienna sighed in exasperation and narrowed her eyes. "I didn't punch a fucking _hole_ in the fabric of time and space." She cleared her throat and fidgeted with one of the dials on the control panel. "I just kinda... grazed the edge a little."

She could see the Doctor was trying hard not to laugh at her but his eyes betrayed him.

Her eyes narrowed and she threw her hands up in surrender. "Well excuse the hell out of me." She crossed her arms, and turned away, well aware of the fact that she was being petulant.

She couldn't help it. He seemed to bring out the brat in her.

She sensed that he'd come around the console and was standing behind her. A hand touched her shoulder gently.

"Come now. Don't be cross with me." he urged. "I think your flying skills are quite impressive."

Okay. Now he was _definitely_ mocking her.

She turned back to face him, her jaw set. "Fly the damn thing."

"If you insist." he chuckled and with a shrug, turned back to the controls and started things in motion.

She slid down into a nearby jumpseat, refusing to look at him. The condescending dick.

Sienna had a sudden and intense craving for a cigarette.

It didn't take long before the Doctor had pulled them back through the wormhole. He had continued a steady flow of friendly conversation throughout the flight, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was entirely one sided.

Sienna had remained silent ever since he'd mocked her attempt at operating the TARDIS. She was seriously just ready to be back to her damn apartment. And she told him as much now.

He sounded quite hurt. "Really? You're telling me you no longer wish to travel in the TARDIS with me, just because I hurt your _pride_?"

"Don't be so damn melodramatic." she muttered. "I just need to get a few things in order before I _take off_ like that." She didn't mention the fact that she also really needed a nicotine fix.

He looked relieved and nodded his understanding. "Right then. To your apartment. What's the address?"

"It's 403 Market." she told him, still pouting a bit.

He set the coordinates and then walked over to where she sat, obviously still attempting to appease her. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"Sienna." He said seriously. "I promise to give you a _proper_ flying lesson now that we're back in our own universe. Traversing a wormhole isn't an easy thing, even for an experienced and skilled TARDIS pilot."

He gave her an affectionate squeeze as they began to rematerialize.

She scoffed. "Oh, an experienced and skilled pilot such as yourself?" she asked him, looking at the scanner behind him in amusement. "Your flying skills _are_ quite impressive." She barely managed to keep from laughing out loud.

His brow furrowed and he turned to see what she was looking at.

"Well that's not right." he exclaimed, stating the obvious.

It appeared he'd landed them near some woods.

She stood and stretched, feeling quite vindicated and suddenly not needing a cigarette so much.

She walked over and hit the door control switch.

"Well... the good news is... it looks like you at least managed to hit Earth." she smirked over at him as they stepped out onto a dark road.

They were in a familiar clearing in the center of some woods.

"Wait a moment." the Doctor marveled. "Don't I know this place?"

She looked all around, finally recognizing this as the clearing where they'd met. "I think you do." Sienna said softly. She looked over at him, all feelings of hostility completely gone now.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Right. I do indeed." He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked around a bit, surveying the area. "I wonder why the TARDIS has brought us here?" he mused.

She glanced up the road, half expecting a shabby green pick up truck from the 1940s to come barreling toward them.

"Just somethin about this road I guess..." She looked over at the TARDIS then and couldn't help but wonder if the very spot in which it kept materializing was the very spot in the road where Clyde Shipley had found Theia.

As if in answer to her thoughts, the distinctive sound of a record player suddenly began to emanate from the TARDIS, like it was coming from a loud speaker. A familiar tune that went right to Sienna's heart.

 _ **When I fall in love... it will be forever...**_

"Quite the romantic, the TARDIS, I suppose." the Doctor commented grinning down at her as smoothly took her in his arms and they began to sway in time to the music.

"Wait a minute." Sienna said suspiciously. "You didn't _plan_ this did you?"

"Of course not." he replied innocently. "Must have been fate."

* * *

 _ **I hope my little stories have been as enjoyable to read as they were to write. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks so much for reading. -Ruinous79**_


End file.
